Staying friends after a breakup may not be the right option for everyone. Some people may find it very hard to stay friends without rekindling their romantic relationships, while others may have undergone a bitter break up which needs separation. Therefore, in all the cases, the decision one makes after the breakup is based on the nature of the breakup. If the break-up was a mutual understanding between you two, then you can agree to stay friends. However, to stay friends after a break-up, there are several rules you have to be conversant with and follow to make sure that you don’t intrude into one another’s personal space and go back to pure friendship without getting sexual.
Yes, not being in the couple of stuff you are used to sucks. However, after a breakup, you need to stay single and rediscover yourself and what you want in your next stage. Therefore, you need to ensure that it’s a clean breakup since it helps you undergo a smooth healing process. Additionally, when you decide to get back together with your ex, it will be easier. To be friends, there is the need to be no longer angry. Hurt or feel resentful towards one another. Additionally, you need to put a mute on stalking them on social media. You can choose not to be friends on the social media pages since this can help you avoid the stress which comes in when you see your ex moving on when you’re not.
Even if you stay friends, you need to spend more time on yourself, take some time, heal and make many other friendships. Everyone has their timelines to get over a breakup, and it is important to give one another some quality time alone to evaluate the direction of their life. If you have to hang out, you should choose public places which are not romantic.
Life is full of different transitions. Children grow up, complete their education. The most committed and solid relationships come to an end in some cases. One of the saddest things a person can undergo is getting into a serious relationship or marriage and finding out that it is not the happily ever after you dreamed of or you were looking for. Additionally, most people lose their happiness and the only option they have is to break up. However, the hardest part is breaking up and staying friends and how to go about it.
Breaking up and staying friends need many maturities, which is why there is the need for the two of you to talk it out. Be honest with one another on why you need to end the relationship or marriage, set personal boundaries, and decide how forward. In most cases, when children are involved, staying friends might be inevitable. Therefore, understand the boundaries you two have, ignore the thoughts of the external parties, and move on with your life.
Once you have been dating, married, or in a long-term partnership, it may be an uncommon occurrence for you to consider becoming friends after a breakup. Even though staying friends is a viable options, it is not easy to do and execute. This could be due to the issues you have encountered as a couple, how you have treated one another, and the nature of the break-up. If the breakup was mutual, you can be friends with no attached feelings. Some people realize that they can do better as friends and not as couples, which is for people who have been long-term friends before beginning dating.
Additionally, even though you part ways on a bad note, staying friends is possible. However, you should let your ex have some time to heal by not contacting them immediately after a break-up. Once the two of you have overcome the pain that comes with a breakup, you can find it easier to resume your friendship. However, some people may find it hard to resume friendship, especially when the ex was a toxic person and tried to get back together by force.
The fact of the matter is that it is possible to be friends with your ex right after a break-up. However, this is a rare occurrence. However, when the two of you are in an amicable agreement that you should be friends, it’s something that can be achieved in the short or the long term depending on your agreement. Even after a bitter breakup, some ex-couples have decided to become friends because of the understanding they have for one another and if they are fully aware of what exactly transpired in the relationship.
Therefore, the answer is there. You can stay friends, but will you choose to? Not all people may be for the idea, and this is not because a person is a coward. It is expected that a person who was in a long-term relationship or marriage can take a very long time before they can get used to being alone and doing their thing without jumping to another relationship.
After a breakup, whether good or bad, staying friends attracts a set of guidelines that you need to follow to help one another stay singles and find their next partner, whether physically or online. First, you need to have an honest conversation on the decision to be friends, understand each one's boundaries honor them. After a break-up, it is easier to be friends in theory and not in practice. Additionally, you need to leave out other people's opinions on your relationship and your decision to stay friends. It may be a wrong idea for some people to stay friends might be a good idea for you so don’t listen much to what people say.
Additionally, you need to take it slow since it’s no longer similar to going out with friends. Some people may be closer to their friends than to their ex, and this is to give them some time to themselves to move on or bear the pain of the breakup. Finally, you need to be completely realistic of the details and understand that the relationship may not work for both of you even after being friends. Once you remain friends, it may be commendable to try and work things out, but this may not be for everybody. The right thing to do is make sure that you are not forcing anything.
Friendships, in the real world, are spaces for happiness. Friends grant us support, joy as well as the companionship we may need. Friends are also a good source of advice, but what if all this is friendship with an ex-couple? Is it easy to come out of a sexually intimate relationship to mere friendship with no additional benefits? Well, there are several reasons why people shoes to be friends with their exes which are;
Security. This is tied to one feeling safe and good in a friendship with their ex in the premise that you enjoy one another’s company and motivate one another.
Practical reasons. Some individuals benefit hugely from their ex when it comes to power, gifts, and money.
Unresolved attraction to your ex may see the two of you enjoying some romantic moments even after moving on.
Make sure that you take some time apart.
Respect the needs and wants of the other person.
Always make sure to maintain physical and emotional distance.
Avoid social media for some time.
Work on yourself and make sure that you have positive friends around you.
Ask for help from a therapist if need be.
Conclusion
Breakups require one to rediscover himself/herself, and staying friends might help one heal from the breakup, decide on what he/she wants in the next relationship and move forward to the next relationship without a rush. Acting friends might also help a couple mend their relationship and rekindle their relationship for a better marriage, as discussed in the article.
