It is widely universally accepted that relationships, whether romantic, platonic, relative or otherwise, are often complicated. When in doubt at some point hardships will be faced. This is especially true when it comes to relationships romantic in nature. When it comes to romantic relationships, particularly the end of them, everyone deals with it differently. Seeing as how every person and relationship is unique this makes a lot of sense.

So how long does it take to get over a breakup? It kind of depends on who you ask. When I approached my friends with the question they all answered differently. Some said it depended on the length of the relationship and who broke up with who. Others gave me various time periods ranging from one month to six months. While some friends told me it takes up until meeting someone new.

In my humble opinion, it takes watching all nine season of “How I Meet Your Mother”, however long that may be, to get over a past relationship. Throughout the show the audience watches the main character, Ted Mosby, tell the sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes heartwarming story of how he meets his children’s mother.

Throughout the story, Ted experiences various failed romantic relationships. Through nine seasons Ted has at least 22 semi-serious relationships with different women that end in failure, one of which ends with him being left at the altar. However, at the end of the tail, Ted finally finds the girl of his dreams, just not in the way he thought it would happen. Ted faces a lot of heartbreak but it pays off in the end.

There really isn’t any particular guideline for how one should act when a relationship ends. Nor is there a set timeline for how long it will take a person to recover from a breakup. I think watching “How I Meet Your Mother” is the cure. There’s something to be said about watching Ted and his gaggle of friends struggle through their turbulent love lives that makes you realize that a breakup isn’t the end of the world. Some people think sitting on the couch and eating ice cream for a month is the cure. Others say refocusing on yourself is the cure.

The truth is there is no cure. When you love someone you give them a piece of yourself and when that person is out of the picture it’s easy to feel a piece of yourself left with them. It can feel like you’ll never get that piece back.

There is something that is important to realize though, and I think Ted Mosby says it best. In season 4 episode 22 Ted says, “there are a lot of little reasons why the big things in our lives happen”. Life is made up of little moments that form to make a bigger picture. Our life is kind of like a puzzle. As you begin to piece it together you can’t really see what the picture is until its complete. As you go through life you collect more and more pieces. The places we go and the people we meet add pieces and shape to our puzzles.

When a relationship ends it can feel like the puzzle will never be the same because you have stopped getting those little pieces from that one person, but that doesn’t mean your puzzle is ruined. Breakups are messy and emotional and at the time you’re too zoomed into it to see the whole picture. In the end, it could be that one person leaving your puzzle formed the way for other pieces to be connected. When you look back at the picture it all makes sense. The addition and loss of certain pieces will all make sense in the end.

There is no easy and definite reason why monumental things in life happen the way they do. Often not one moment or decision that can be pinpointed. It’s often a bunch little reasons that piece together to form the bigger picture. A break up can seem a big moment but can actually end up a little thing that leads to something greater. How long does it take someone to get over a breakup? However long it takes for them to see a bigger part of the puzzle.