We have all been there. We meet someone awesome, the connection seems remarkable and we begin to fall for them. You date for a couple months, even years.  Then the relationship falls apart for any number of reasons. At the end of the night, the feeling of heartbreak sucks no matter what. While sitting in bed with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream or playing an excessive amount of video games may ease the pain at the beginning, it won’t be productive in any way. Here are five simple ways to get over that difficult breakup:

Keep busy

You always hear it, but it’s true. If you keep yourself busy with school, extracurricular activities, or even work, your mind won’t always be occupied with what your ex is doing, what you would’ve changed and all of that nonsense. Plus, if you work, you can gain some extra cash to go buy new clothes.

Work out

Nothing will make you feel better than getting out of bed, throwing away that empty carton of ice cream and hitting the gym. Working out releases hormones called endorphins, “the feel good” hormones that will make you naturally happy. Working out will also help clear your mind. Make a great playlist as a soundtrack for your workout. Also, exercising will mean your body will be looking fine and, of course, what a sweet revenge that will be the next time you run into that ex.

Go out

Going out and meeting new people is key. Even if you’re not looking for someone, there are possibilities out there. Flirting is amazingly fun and there is nothing holding you back from getting that hot guy or girl’s number. Spending a night out with friends and laughing will make you feel better.

Avoid Facebook

In today’s world it’s so easy to keep in contact with your ex with social networking sites like Facebook, but Facebook can also cause jealously and make you become more insecure about your breakup. Remain friends if you can handle it, but don’t jump to conclusions. If it’s easier, hide the person from your newsfeed. By doing so, you won’t be bothered by their constant updates. And yes, they may be adding photos of going out with random girls and guys, having pictures with their arm around them, and making dumb status updates, but this could all be a part of their game to make you jealous. Just try to ignore them.  Letting your ex know that the breakup didn’t affect your life in such a tremendous way will eat away more at him or her than adding photos and statuses back. It’s immature.

Learn from it

With every failed relationship you will find out more about yourself. Maybe your constant nagging about texting became too extreme? Learn from it. This way, when you do find that someone special, you will have the tools to maintain a successful relationship.

Breaking up is one of the hardest experiences people deal with. In time, however, everyone gets over it and moves on. We find someone new and, if we’re lucky, someone much better. It will leave you wondering why you wasted all those tears over your ex.

Jackie Chambers can be reached at [email protected].