The Dos and Don’ts of Breaking Up

Breaking up is hard to do. That’s probably why so many people stay in relationships that don’t work for them. I can’t imagine staying unhappy with someone because I don’t want to face breaking up, but some people do it all the time. If you know your relationship is over, you need to know the dos and don’ts of breaking up with someone.

Do…

Break up with him in person. When you care about someone, it’s hurtful to do it over the phone, through a text, or in an email. Have the decency to sit down with this person and answer questions, talk it out, and try to make some sense of it. Remember, you’ve had time to process this and you know why it didn’t work; he doesn’t.

Rehearse what you will say in your head. It makes it easier for everyone when you have a good idea of what you’re going to say. It makes it sound less hurtful and upsetting to him when you can tell him honestly what the problem is without offending him because you’re fumbling for the right words.

Tell the truth about why you want to end things. He deserves to know the truth. It’s hard to get over someone when you aren’t even sure what went wrong, so make it a point to tell him that it’s not working for the exact reason that it’s not working.

Don’t….

Tell him it’s over by changing your Facebook status to single and loving it. This is immature, ridiculous, and very hurtful. He should be the first to know, not the entirety of your social networking crew.

Delve into every single issue you had in your relationship. You’re already breaking up with him. You don’t need to also tell him you hate his mom, his sister is a world-class you-know-what.