Please, Don't Go Back To Your Toxic Ex When Quarantine Ends

Quarantine has had different effects on different people.

Some people have used it to their advantage, being as productive as possible. Some people have taken more naps than usual. Some are enjoying all the snacks in the world.

Some, though, have wound up stuck on their ex.

When in quarantine, all the free time makes it extremely easy to overthink and let your mind wander to places it shouldn't... including your relationship that ended a few weeks ago, a few months ago, or a year or two ago. While it is OK to acknowledge those thoughts and accept all of the things you are feeling, it isn't always the best idea to act on them as soon as you get the chance.

The fact of the matter is that going back to someone you know is bad for you will not bring the catharsis you want it to or expect it to.

Throughout our time in quarantine, I have seen jokes about hooking up with exes after quarantine on basically every social media platform. More times than I can count. And every time, the number of likes, shares, retweets, and reposts that these things get is outrageous, which I can only assume means there are plenty, and I mean plenty, of people genuinely thinking about this.

Let this serve as a reminder that your relationship ended for a reason.

Maybe you weren't treated right, or quite frankly maybe you didn't treat them right.

Maybe you both need time and space to grow into yourselves.

Maybe one of you needs to learn to love yourself before you try to love another.

I can't say what the reason may have been, but the reality is that something was wrong enough between the two of you for someone, or both of you, to decide it was time to draw the line.

So, while quarantine might be leading you to think about all of the good times and happy days, you cannot toss aside the bad ones, the sad ones, and the angry ones. Don't allow your loneliness to sugarcoat the pain someone put you through, or the anger they instilled on you.

Sometimes people need a little space to grow, and sometimes life brings them back together later on, and sometimes it works out. That's true.

That being said, though, this is absolutely not the case in every situation, and you should not be fixating on the question of whether or not they will come back to you.

Take this time apart to work on yourself. Build your self-love, and genuinely become comfortable and happy with being alone.

At the end of the day, all you have is yourself, and if you cannot be happy with that, chances are you will never be able to find true peace and comfort with someone else.

Codependent, toxic relationships are born out of the joining of two people who need someone by their side in order to be content. You need to be content by yourself first.

When quarantine ends, don't go running back to the same place where you broke.

Relax, focus on yourself, and understand that you don't need them in order to be the best, happiest version of yourself.

You owe yourself that much respect.

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