Pole-dancing, anyone?

Dealing with a break up? Maya Fowell offers light-hearted advice.

The first week after a break up is gruesome. You find yourself between a rock and a hard place: resenting the person for wasting your time, all the while still hoping you might have some sort of future together. Being dumped or dumping someone can turn even the most independent of us into quivering, binge-eating, anti-showering emotional wrecks. So, what do you do when you feel like all hope is gone?

Instead of repeatedly singing every word of Annie’s Tomorrow until you cry, why not give these solutions a try:

• Be active – Don’t sit around and mope, your ex isn’t. You are young, supple and full of life! You don’t need another person to make you feel alive. Get out of the house and do something. There are so many cool societies and sport clubs at Warwick, join something you’ve never thought of trying (pole-dancing anyone?). The extra time you’ll have on your hands can be used to make yourself a better person, plus the best way to meet new people is to try an activity you haven’t before.

• Change your appearance – This might sound a bit silly but just go with it. That haircut you wanted to try but didn’t because they loved your hair long, or that shirt you wanted to buy but couldn’t because you were paying for ‘date night’ are now things you can say yes to! Treating yourself to something new is scientifically proven to make you feel better, even if it is only short term. All those compliments you’ll get when you strut your stuff on Floor 2 will do wonders for your fragile ego. Turn Herbert in to Hercules. My advice: If you are planning a permanent change, try a temporary one first. Blonde hair might sound good in the heat of the moment but you don’t want to lose yourself when your ex has handed you the perfect opportunity to discover who you really are.

• Surround yourself with positive people that love you – The urge to stay wrapped up under your blanket away from direct sunlight will be a strong one. Resist this urge. Force yourself to interact with people who have been there for you all year round, the people you’d normally call when you want to have a good time or the friends that make you laugh so hard you have to pause to catch your breath. Lovers come and go, but friends are forever…all those bracelets can’t be wrong. I once had to spoon a close friend while she slept after having a drunken argument with her then-ex-boyfriend, it wasn’t convenient for me but in time of struggle those who love you will naturally flock to your aid.

Remember, if all else fails, you can always change your name, create a new identity and move to a new city… I hear Vegas is beautiful this time of year.