It’s no wonder a breakup is considered a break-up. It’s because things, you know, break. The relationship, your heart, potentially a few household objects… breaking up just plain hurts. It takes time to heal and time to sort through your feelings about everything that’s happened. But the good news is dating hiatuses never last forever, and you’ll be able to get yourself back out there soon enough. How will you be able to tell when you’re ready to date again? Check out these guaranteed signs!
Your Anger is Gone
Anger is normal, healthy, and understandable during and after a breakup. This is especially true if things ended because your partner cheated on you or was abusive. But while anger definitely has its place, it shouldn’t be buying real estate in your brain. Anger is necessary for you to get past this hurt in your life, but it also needs to eventually disperse for your own well-being. If you’re still feeling angry when you reflect on your ex, it either means you’re not ready to see other people yet or you’re not yet ready to trust another person. Give it time. You’ll know when you’re no longer seething with rage.
You’re Happy Spending Time with Yourself
After a breakup, you may feel like part of you is missing. And that makes sense. The longer you two were together, the more your lives, hobbies, free time, friends, and get-together locations melted together. You’ll indeed find yourself becoming more aware now of what was his, what was yours, and what was for the both of you. And while you’ll spend time grieving those losses on top of the loss of your partner, you’ll know you’re ready to date again once you’re happy spending time by yourself. It shows that you once again know who you are independent of other people and have embraced it. It’ll also make you that much more attractive to potential new beaus!
You’re Done Stereotyping
We’ve all heard it on sitcoms and rom-coms: all men are pigs, all men are cheaters, all men only want one thing. But those phrases are meant more for laughs than anything else. If you find yourself in this actual mindset, you’re not yet ready to date. It’s irrational to claim that all of something is a certain way. The fact of the matter is it isn’t true. Just because you’ve had a bad ex (or a string of bad exes) doesn’t mean there aren’t better guys out there. And once you recognize that, you’ll actually be able to find them instead of immediately shutting them down as bad people. In a similar vein, you must also be done stereotyping yourself, such as thinking, “Nobody will ever want me because of [insert body worry or personality quirk here].” Who wants a Sad Sack Sam?
Your Memorabilia is Stuffed Under the Bed… or in the Trash
This isn’t to be done in the angry way where you break a bunch of things in a rage or toss all of his stuff out the window, but by simply realizing that these pieces of your life with your ex are no longer important to have in your direct line of vision. If they serve no purpose for you, give them away or throw them out. If you’d like the opportunity to put a piece or two in some sort of memory box with other trinkets, then do so. But the fact remains that if you’re holding onto them purely because you want to pretend what’s happened hasn’t happened, then you need to focus on moving past your hurt.
You’re Ready to Experiment
Don’t sign yourself up for speed dating or go on blind dates when you’re still down in the dumps. Wait until you feel curious or excited about the idea of what other men are out there for you, and then start searching! Hardline Chat is an excellent place to test the dating pool, giving you safe, easy ways to find that special someone while investigating several men at a time. It’s fun, it’s low-stress, and it can help you find the fun in flirting again! Give Hardline a try and find out once and for all if you’re ready to get back out there!
So how much does our advice ring true? When did you know you were ready to date again? Tell us in the comments below!
