Should You Follow Your Ex on Facebook?
Should you follow your ex on Facebook? You already know the answer, right? But in case there is any doubt a new study by Tara C. Marshall might help you do the thing you need to do to move on. The study suggest that having continuing online exposure to your ex keeps the wound open, making it harder for you to begin to heal and create new relationships. For most of us the issue isn’t knowing what we should do–it is finding a way to do it. The urge to look and re-ignite those painful feelings is often quite strong. If you are caught in a cycle of checking an ex’s Facebook page and would like to break free consider the following ideas:
1) Ask a friend for help. Sometimes just admitting what is going on to someone helps us do the thing we need to do.
2) Make it harder to see the information on Facebook. De-friend your ex, and change your account settings so that you limit how often you see things about your ex on other friend’s pages.
3) Choose something good you will do instead of lurking on the computer. Maybe it’s time to join the gym or get involved on a team.
4) Choose something you will do that will discourage you from looking but be good for you overall. For instance make a deal with yourself that you will give money to charity each time you look at your ex-partner’s feed on Facebook (set an amount), or you could decide volunteer, or head out and exercise each time you look.