A rumination buster

When heartbroken and, in particular, betrayed, our brains can get caught up in a punitive cycle of rumination, desperately trying to find answers to why it happened and what went wrong. So, try this: Once or twice a day, at specific times allow yourself half an hour to fire both barrels at your ex. Be as angry and punishing as you wish during that allocated window, but when the time is up, it’s over. Every time you are tempted to slip back into rumination mode, remind yourself you’ll get another opportunity at X o’clock to let rip. Tell yourself your ex is like a powerful narcotic, and that you’ll get your hit later on, so there’s no need to panic. Having it scheduled in to your day will help you stay in control and stop you jumping back onto the rumination rollercoaster every time it shows up. You’re in charge now and you say when it’s time to board.