1. You can’t get that same thrill from any other person. It doesn’t matter how many dates you go on. Nobody makes you feel the same excitement you felt when you were with your ex.

2. You go through the old text messages they sent you and pictures that you saved and pretend that you’re living in that moment again, because it was way better than the hell you’re living through now.

3. You compare everyone you date to your ex — but not by their looks or even their personality. You compare the way they make you feel. How different the kisses feel. How different the sex feels. How different every tiny touch feels.

4. Your friends get sick of you. They don’t want to keep hearing about how much you miss your ex or about how you made such a huge mistake. They’re either going to encourage you to move on, to shut your mouth, or a little bit of both.

5. Your relationships never last. You get overwhelmed with guilt whenever a new man is head over heels for you, and meanwhile you’re still stuck thinking of your ex during sex. It just doesn’t seem fair. So you always end it.

6. You get used to the tears, because they’re always ready to fall. You think about the breakup and cry. You think about the happy memories and cry. You think about his dog, the one that you’ll never pet again, and you cry. Every thought of him ends in tears.

7. You can’t watch a movie or read a book without comparing the couples in it to your old relationship. You see yourself in every female role and you see him in every male role. You can’t picture anyone else.

8. You feel guilty whenever you date someone new. You feel like you’re cheating on your ex, even though they’re long gone. Even though they’re probably having sex with someone else at that very moment without even thinking of you.

9. You have a love-hate relationship with sleep. You hate climbing into bed, because the opposite side is empty and you wish you had someone to cuddle. But you’re also excited to sleep, because it gives you a few hours of peace, a few hours where you don’t have to replay the same memories of them over and over again.

10. You stalk their social media, just so you can feel like you’re still in their life. You might even lose control and like one of their photos or comment on their status.

11. Eventually, you end up texting them. Maybe it’s a drunken text confessing how much you miss them. Or maybe it’s a text you rewrote ten times before sending to make yourself seem as casual as possible. Either way, it’s impossible to hold yourself back from contacting them.

12. You wonder if breaking up was a mistake — or, more importantly, if getting back together would be the right move. You can’t stop thinking about holding them again. Kissing them again. Being loved by them again.