1. “I lost thirty-seven pounds. It was definitely a vanity thing, but it went deeper than that too. I wanted to be able to move without getting out of breath, to feel not disgusting after every meal, and to feel like I was taking care of myself long term.”
–Angie, 26
2. “I moved to Denver. Said yes to the first job offer I got (boring admin stuff). My dream was always to live in Denver and the only reason I hadn’t done so yet was because I was on the east coast with her. Actually doing it was a way to physically show myself that good things could come out of the pain.”
–Ian, 24
3. “I cut them out fully – deleted their number, unfollowed and unfriended them on everything, even unfollowed all of their siblings and mom. Doing that allowed me to feel like I could catch my breath and like I had more space and room to heal.”
–Katerina, 22
4. “I got my own studio apartment. You would think that being alone would make everything worse, but I had been living with three roommates and was so tired of not having my own space, and finally feeling like I was living on my own was a huge help in getting over him.”
–Hanna, 26
5. “I went on a vacation by myself. Nothing complicated – I just went down to Florida. So I still felt safe and not panicky about the trip, but it was so relaxing. I read by the pool, ate room service, and slept in. Did everything on my own time and went for the perfect amount: three nights. I am still getting over everything but in a way now where I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Like I’ll be okay. ”
–Raechel, 28
6. “I was having a really hard time a few months into it and I wasn’t making any progress. My breakup was really amicable and respectful, so eventually, after a lot of panicking and avoiding, I called up my ex and asked her to have a long, in-depth talk with me about everything that happened between us, and the relief I felt after (even though I was still feeling like shit) was insane. Got tons of closure from it.”
–Pat, 25
7. “Meditation. I hate it every time I do it and then I feel incredible after.”
–Braden, 31
8. “I got super into podcasts. I know how that sounds, even writing it made me cringe. But learning about all these new things was an amazing way to give my brain a break from thinking about her, and it also boosted my confidence because I felt like I was growing my perspective a lot.”
–Jon, 27
9. “Went scuba diving, which was both a lifelong terror and a lifelong dream. It felt really good to do something I was so fascinated by and also so scared of – it made me feel less pathetic and less passive about my own life.”
–Maria, 24
10. “I buzzed my head.”
–Bonnie, 21
11. “There wasn’t one, big drastic move for me. Instead it was a lot of little things. Like I started reading more books and I called my sister more and worked on that relationship. And I cleaned out all the clutter in my place and I started walking to work. A ton of small things that slowly made me feel like I was a new person without him that I really felt confident in.”
–Jana, 30 
