I don’t know how long your relationship was or how long you’ve been separated, but for me, there were two things I had to do.

First, regardless of whether or not I hoped her and I would get back together, and regardless of whether or not I thought we’d actually get back together, I had to accept that the chapter of my life that involved her was over. My relationship was 14 months, we were engaged, she was over at my place a lot; my point is that I got very accustomed to having her around all the time. It takes some time to reach this point, trust me.

What will help is staying no contact, and extend that to “one-sided” contact: don’t check her social media. People describe it as a highlight reel of the person’s life for a reason; you’ll see her going and doing things with friends and you’ll miss her even more. Also, be sure that you pack up/dispose of anything of hers or that reminds you of her that you have, and put it out of sight. I was shooting myself in the foot until I finally packed up the pictures I had around my apartment of her and I.

The second piece of advice I’d give is to stay busy as much as possible. Hang out with friends, take a trip, learn new skills, pick up new hobbies or old ones that you may have put down, etc. This will help you transition into the “new” chapter of your life without her. Hell, I’ve become quite a different person after the nearly five months apart from her. I’ve made a ton of friends (she always criticized me for only having a few really close friends), I’ve taken vacations to both of the places we fantasized about living after getting married (we had a wedding date set), I’ve been teaching myself to play piano after wanting to for years, I’ve started brushing up on my computer science for the new job I’ll be starting soon, I’ve started playing video games again, and last but certainly not least, I’ve been on a diet and have lost over 60 pounds.

You just have to quit worrying about her. If she dumped you, then nothing you can do directly will change her mind. She made the choice to leave, so the choice to come back will be hers as well. What I did was use that as motivation: become a better person. Six months down the road, I know I’m going to have changed significantly for the better, while she’ll be bored and miserable in her rebound relationship. But when that time hits (and it’s fast approaching for me), I’ll know that she doesn’t deserve me, and I’ll know that I deserve someone much better.

You can make it through, it just takes time and patience. Good luck OP.