You're dating someone great and just like that it's over. It's okay, most of us have been there. Whether the breakup was mutual or totally one-sided, most people tend to go through these stages.

1.

“I wish I may, I wish I might
One day live life like a person in paradise
Right now, I’m just a volcano
On the brink of eruption”

Otherwise known as the binge-eating ice cream phase, the initial breakup is the hardest. “West Virginia” by The Front Bottoms encapsulates this perfectly.“Love of my life, gone forever” breaks your heart every time it is sung.

2.

“Say hallelujah
I never knew ya until now”

This one is called “You and I” by HoneyHoney. She is pissed off and ready to raise hell. “Cause I play for myself/ My rules and my hell raising”. A lot of people have been there. Once you get over the initial sadness you start to think of everything your ex did wrong. You want vengeance for it!

3.

“And I should be over this by now
And I should be over you”

The title of this song, written by Sledding With Tigers, describes this stage perfectly: “Oh, Right. Damn, it.” This is the stage where you know you’ve been thinking about your ex too long, but you can’t help it.

4.

“Darling, sweet lover, won't you help me to recover,
Darling, sweet lover, one day this will all be over.”

During this phase, you accept that it’s time to get over the breakup, and that it will take a while. Yet that’s okay. “Recovery” by Frank Turner talks about his initial attempts to recover from his breakup with drugs. However, he realizes there are better ways to do it.

5.

“I've got a plan, I've got an atlas in my hands
I'm gonna turn when I listen to the lessons I've learned”

Benjamin Francis Leftwich is the writer of this melancholy song, entitled “Atlas Hands”. While the song is not necessarily upbeat it has a clearly optimistic meaning. He sings how he’ll always remember his ex, but is ready to move on. He understands that he’ll remember her but that they broke up for a reason. He has learned from his mistakes and is ready to take on the world. This is the stage of the breakup where you realize everything will be okay, and you take on the world yourself.