Home→Forums→Relationships→Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up
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October 16, 2018 at 12:46 am #231275ShelbyvilleParticipant
Thanks so much for your sensible words. You are right of course. I also feel that if I don’t do it now, it will go too long into the process and once he gets out the other side, there will be no way he will head back into the fire again.
When we reunited the last time, we were very naieve and didn’t know we could face heartbreak all over again. He will most definitely not try it a third time, knowing what we have been through.
I know I need to remember why we are not together. I need to remember. Dammit, he is on the pedestal, which is silly. It’s nice to know someone gets it though, how I’m feeling and the withdrawal.
I hope youre doing ok this morning.
October 16, 2018 at 1:08 am #231277KkasxoParticipantof course I get it because I find myself doing the same thing! Even as far as trying to convince myself that maybe all the damage he did was ‘just a mistake?’ Maybe I CAN just be in the relationship without any progress because it means I can have him and that far outweighs what I am feeling now.. But the reality is that’s not healthy! We cannot change our wants and needs, and unfortunately neither can they! I never believed people when they said that cliche thing of ‘we didn’t work out in the end because we wanted different things’ B***sh**! But it is true. Except in my circumstances we want the same things he just isn’t sure when! And I would like to be actively working towards those things!
I too find myself putting my ex on a pedestal. The happy memories and all those little caring things he did for me throughout our relationship are surfacing and I struggle to think differently. But I need to remind myself that this is the same man that ruined me and walked away from me when I needed him the most. This is the same man who even now is unable to just be there for me, not even in a partner sort of way but just as somebody who has cared for me for many years to help me get out of my ‘dark hole’ when it happens. This man has caused me so much grief and pain.. How could I ever trust him with my heart again?! I don’t think I could..
If I’m honest, my rational mind tells me that things could never be the same again. I just want them to be. Almost like I want to forget all the bad that’s happened in the last few months and just go back to our everyday happy routine. But that’s never going to work.
This is hard work Shelby! It really really is and I hope that one day this feeling of despair passes! One thing I try to tell myself when I’m feeling down is I was absolutely fine and alive and even enjoying my life before I met him. I will be fine after him too. There IS a life beyond them! There must be!
October 16, 2018 at 1:59 am #231279ShelbyvilleParticipantThat’s so true. I have often thought I could be happy with just what was on offer and to be honest, I would try but your innate wants and desires don’t stay buried, they eventually seep out. I guess that’s what happened with us, I tried to be patient for years but it seeped out many times and the pressure he felt was making him unhappy too. My therapist pointed out that if I wasn’t the age I am, I would have given him longer. He may still not have changed and grown by if I was in my 20s, I’d have time to give him, however naive it may have been.
I find if I think about it, the withdrawal gets worse, if I think about those kind caring little things. The only thing I can do now is to say each time such a thought creeps in, ‘you’re doing ok and you will be fine in the future, you’re getting there’. It softens the urge, however minimally. So thinking about him is a no no. It doesn’t help. We have to try and realise that THIS is our life now, the one we had is gone. Eek…I can’t even type that without it stinging and a certain amount of disbelief.
We can’t help how we feel and I guess they can’t help how they feel. So it’s ridiculously unfair but it’s life I guess. I want to avoid this pain, but if I don’t go through it, I’ll end up with pain worse than this down the road I suspect.
S
October 16, 2018 at 7:34 am #231319KkasxoParticipantIts interesting you say that. I’m in my mid 20’s and if I’m honest, yes I was willing to give him all the time in the world because although i’m ready to move forward in life I do also feel like I have a bit of time to play with. The reality is, had I done that I would’ve ended up where you are now anyway. Just with many more years of my life wasted!
I do truly believe in the ‘never ready’ type of man. And my ex fits that criteria. He’s so afraid of commitment (although he won’t admit to this) that he just will never be ready. There will always be something that holds him back.
How are you feeling this afternoon?
October 16, 2018 at 8:30 am #231323ShelbyvilleParticipantMy ex was essentially afraid too. The frustrating thing for me is that I know what his issue kind of is, because of the therapy I’ve been in the past few years. My therapist has given me a good understanding of what has been happening and I feel it’s something that could be worked on by my ex, but you can’t make someone do something they don’t want to do. It’s acknowledged by everyone, friends, family and therapist that this is the biggest mistake my ex could have made and one day we will eventually regret it when it’s long passed too late.
Again, that doesn’t help me because I feel we had the potential for this happy ever after but he didn’t want to try. And yes, I should realise that someone who doesn’t fight for me is not worth it. But I can’t help if I love him, even though he didn’t give me enough and couldn’t no matter how hard he tried, I love who I love, flaws and all.
I think the point people make on forums and advice columns is that you should love yourself more. Yes, I should. But I obviously musn’t otherwise I wouldn’t be trying to think of ways to get back with my ex. These are not consistent thoughts but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it at all.
My anxiety has been simmering away in my tummy today. Not stopping me from functioning or working, but enough to know all is not well yet.
How has your day been?
October 16, 2018 at 9:13 am #231327KkasxoParticipantIt is the biggest mistake he has ever made. I’m sure of that. But nonetheless one he chose to make.. The likelihood is he will come back into your life at some point to try and re-kindle the relationship it’s just a matter of how soon..
I understand why people say to love yourself more. Love yourself enough to not settle for anything other than what you want or need etc.
I don’t know. If I’m honest, i’ve had a really tough day over at this end. It has been so emotionally draining, my anxiety is through the roof and I feel absolutely helpless. I can’t even quite give you the advice you may want to hear at the moment because even I don’t believe in it anymore. Right now, I don’t see any end to my misery. All I want to do is hide away and stay in bed until further notice.
October 16, 2018 at 9:33 am #231335ShelbyvilleParticipantKkasxo,
You just had a weekend from hell (in a way, no disrespect to your bride) and you survived. You are functioning albeit with no happiness or joy.
The biggest thing with anxiety is that we have to be kind to ourselves. Supposed to treat ourselves like a really good friend we care about. The misery is horrendous, but remember you actually were coping for a good few days there with no contact. You just had a bump on the road with everything over the weekend. Totally understandable to be in the depths of misery today.
Its horrendous but I think I was coping better before I contacted him. Now it wasn’t dramatic or anything, a simple inquiry into how he is and a similar response and that was it, and it has thrown me a little I think. I feel I’ve opened a gateway I was in the process of closing.
If im honest, I’m not in the depth I was in when the split happened so loath though I am to admit it, that indicates progress. Now I’ll still argue I’m a mess and broken and will never heal, but maybe time is kinda doing it without my help even. If I do the bare minimum, it does the rest.
Now the question then becomes, do I really WANT to move away from this part of my life and that’s a different story.
Today was shit, write it off. Do anything you can think of to help with anxiety, breathing and writing down your thoughts. Meditation- guided.
Watch some Netflix and tomorrow is another day, it might be better, marginally, it might be the same as today. But you’re still alive, you survived today didn’t you, so you can survive tomorrow. Tell yourself that, even if you don’t believe it, the brain can’t differentiate between true or false things you tell it, it just needs repetition.
As for me, I’m pretty sure he won’t come back. He’s too scared. His life is simpler on his own, as he says himself, he only has to worry about himself then rather than worrying about anything ever happening to me. 🙁
Also- this lady has been putting me to sleep every night:
Check this out on Insight Timer!
http://insig.ht/gm_21563October 16, 2018 at 11:33 am #231345KkasxoParticipantthank your for your constant pick me ups! I really do appreciate it!
As a way of distracting myself and also looking for some out of the world explanation as to why my ex is the way he is I got myself into reading about star signs, numerology, the whole lot! I looked for explanations on why he is the way he is post break up. Or if he will come back. Basically a whole load of silly things to justify what’s happened BUT the one thing I did find is that he is indeed a perfect example of a Capricorn! And in a sense I wish I had read all of this throughout our relationship as a warning hehe!
Do you believe much in these things?!
October 16, 2018 at 12:17 pm #231349ShelbyvilleParticipantKkasxo,
Well if you go to a therapist, they can be very good in explaining what’s really going in if you want to understand. I know a lot more about my ex than he knows himself, due to therapy.
As for astrology etc, I do and I don’t. I read my star sign from time to time and it seems incredibly apt but then I think the same words apply to millions of other people with the same star sign as me, so I dunno. I have always felt a connection to stars – as in- literal stars in the sky! And the sea, which is controlled by the moon….so who knows!
I read a blog blog today about a girl who went through heartbreak in 2016 and described it very well as to what it REALLY feels like. She said her thing was to look into herself each time she wanted to think about him. He was gone, so there was no point in figuring him out, so she would ask herself questions about herself when she would have a question for him. To figure out who she was and why she thought she needed him so much. It was interesting.
General consensus from all advice, blogs, testimonials….it’s gonna take time. Like…..a long time. Not what we want to hear, but I guess we best be prepared and at least it might slacken off the criticism of ourselves for not feeling better sooner!
October 16, 2018 at 1:18 pm #231355KkasxoParticipantOoo maybe that’s a good way of looking at it! I think as human beings we all naturally look for someone to share a life with. And it is true, the loss of a relationship is very similar to a loss of a loved one to death. It is grief and withdrawal. I read somewhere that grief is actually just all love which suddenly has no place to go due to a loss and it is difficult to process because you don’t have anyone who that love can go to.
That’s all I keep hearing, time. I’m a very organised and planned type of person. How much time?! The unknown and anticipation is killing me! I wish there was like a deadline on this, like oh by week 30 it’ll be all over! But I shall be patiently waiting for the ‘time’ to arrive when any of this becomes remotely okay!
October 16, 2018 at 9:43 pm #231405ShelbyvilleParticipantKkasxo,
I’m the same! I want to know exactly how long! Therapist says I can’t have a date and time, it doesn’t work that way, it just fades and becomes easier to live with. Humans have the capacity to process grief and move on otherwise the species would have died out as everyone would have died of broken hearts.
So that’s the logic. But there is no logic this morning with my anxiety. I woke and spent past hour with an upside down tummy writhing away. I think my ex had a brief cameo in one of my dreams but it certainly wasn’t a night filled with dreams about him so I can’t figure out why I take such a hit with anxiety in the middle of the night, towards early morning.
I know ‘this too shall pass’ but honestly it’s tough to deal with. What’s causing it? Why do I have it on top of the heartbreak? It’s most definitely at this time of day I have the biggest need to contact my ex. I would never, cos it would be pointless as he’s sleeping and also probable display me in a desperate manner, but it’s the worst feeling. I’m tired of dealing with it. It’s not easy.
Grief is tough and yes it’s like a death. Except a few differences. Death brings its own acceptance in a way. There is no additional agony of considering undoing it. Also, if someone dies, they might have loved you to the end & didn’t want to go, rather than choose to leave you and continue on existing & living not a million miles away from you. It’s painful.
I hope your evening turned out ok, I went to be relatively early to get as much sleep as I could over the course of the night. I’m really really sad this morning and the anxiety is beating me up.
October 17, 2018 at 1:11 am #231427KkasxoParticipantI’m sorry you’re feeling shitty again. It’s such an excruciating process isn’t it, it’s draining and heart breaking. I know it all too well. It feels like it’s never going to end but we have to keep hopeful.
He managed to find a way to reach out to me again last night. He’s now going on about a way to fix things. He’s desperate in his manner. Somewhat I knew this was going to happen. Once his ‘lads weekend’ is over and all of his friends go back to their cozy homes with their beds full of love and he’s all on his own out of choice he will try to reach out, and I was right.
As much as it is breaking my heart to say these things I’ve said no. We can no longer be. I let him back in last time and believed he would make things right.. and all he did was fail me. I can’t do it again. I’ve asked that he stops reaching out to me every time he has a weak moment and to leave me alone to process the loss of our relationship. I feel sick.
October 17, 2018 at 1:54 am #231429ShelbyvilleParticipantKkasxo,
Oh my gosh, that’s incredible. Do you realise how strong you are being, despite the immense pain? You are doing what’s best for you even if it’s not exactly what you WANT to be doing. At the end of the day, it seems quite dramatic at the moment with your ex. The interaction ye had over the weekend and the fact he’s just home from lads weekend.
If he’s genuine about fixing things, let him go away and work on it for the long term so it works out and is not just a knee-jerk reaction. I have to say, I admire you. You know you deserve better, even if it hurts like a spear. I have not got that far yet. I’m aware that I should have more self esteem and worth, to say ‘f**k him, he doesn’t deserve me’, but I can’t muster it up for some reason. I would take him back tomorrow if he changed his mind, despite knowing that there are issues there that caused the break up. Argh, it’s mind wrecking.
Well done Kkasxo, I hope your ex respects you enough to accept your wishes and you can try to heal a bit. I hope you can still keep me updated on progress so I don’t feel so alone and hope you can inspire me, but do whatever you need to do!
October 17, 2018 at 2:09 am #231431KkasxoParticipantOh darling I’m not strong at all! My heart is absolutely breaking right now. All I wanted was for him to want to rekindle but I know he isn’t serious. This is just a moment of weakness. He did the same over a month ago and I stupidly let him back in only to be disappointed by his lack of effort and the need to split yet again. He keeps referring to ‘sometimes people need to fall apart to realise how much they need to fall back together’. But we have fallen apart and tried to fall back together already. And he again wasn’t ready for it even up until last week! So what could’ve possibly changed in the space of a few days?! He’s just panicking because he can see that I’m cutting off contact and not allowing him back in this time round and it’s probably hit him that he’s messed up!
Nonetheless, my heart is so broken right now. I feel like absolute shit! I can’t wait for today to be over!
October 17, 2018 at 2:43 am #231433ShelbyvilleParticipantKkasxo,
I completely get what you’re saying. You’re right, what would need to happen would be fundamental change and growth and that does NOT happen in a couple of days, it takes time and work. Usually by oneself, so you are smart, you are saving yourself the rollercoaster again this time that could see you split again soon in the near future.
As I said, if he really wants to make it work, let him do the work and come back to you in a good stable place. Anything else is unfair. I’m with you in your heartbreak, I’ve had so many stabs this morning already but I’ve come up with phrase. When I get a stab of pain or a reminder I say, Ok Shelby, that’s painful and sad, but it won’t be like this forever. In the future, such a reminder won’t hurt as bad. Would you believe, it’s actually kind of helping. I think humans are resilient and if you can believe in a time where you might not suffer as badly, we can nearly will ourselves to keep going until that point.
I’m sorry we don’t get the happiness we want. It’s not fair. It just isn’t but a friend told me this morning about a personal tragedy for her and I realise everyone hurts, in life, in various ways. Some people don’t experience heartbreak, lucky them, but many do. So I guess we’ll survive. Today is nearly over, don’t worry!!!!1 You’re getting there!
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