Maintaining Mental Health During a Breakup

In college, students are continuously meeting new people and engaging in relationships. Most college students at some point experience a breakup and it can be emotionally devastating. Dealing with a breakup can be very stressful and harmful for your mental health. The most important thing to avoid in the coping process is letting your emotions affect your wellbeing and having your academics suffer. Don’t let a breakup get in the way of a happy and healthy life! There are many ways of dealing with a breakup and here are some health promoting coping mechanisms: 

Positive thinking is key in maintaining good mental health. Remind yourself that many others have dealt with this and many more after you will. Think about what makes you happy and about all the things that have a positive influence in your life. 

Engage in activities that help distract you. Exercise, be outdoors, maybe even volunteer! A great thing you can do to keep your mind off of the negative emotions associated with a breakup is to pick up a new hobby like reading or hiking, or maybe restart an old hobby that you once enjoyed. 

Surround yourself with positive relationships. Remember that you have friends and family that love you. These people will be your support system throughout this obstacle. Fill your schedule with activities that you can do with people who make you happy. 

Seek professional guidance. Seeing a counselor or a therapist will guide you in the coping process and will offer an outside support that can really help. UNH has great resources here on campus, like the Counseling Center and Health Services for students, check it out! 

Avoid contact with the person that you are ending the relationship with. Immediately following a breakup, maintaining distance from that person with prevent a relapse in healthy progress and will make moving on and starting over easier. It is possible that in the future you can be friends, but for coping purposes, stay away! 

Finally, remember that recovering from a heartbreak is never easy and it can take quite some time to fully heal. There is no perfect way of coping with emotional stress, so find what works best for you!