The Shrink
Can you really mend a broken heart? What kind of equipment would the job require – a sewing kit? Superglue? It’s hard to come up with a handy metaphor that reflects the slow and tortuous recovery from a relationship break-up that leaves you completely drained of joie de vivre. But talking about it in terms of organic processes such as bruises or sprains may be more appropriate than a broken object. You can’t fix a sprained ankle, but you can help it to heal itself by resting, supporting and protecting it.
What does this mean in practice? In the short term, you probably need to take one day at a time, in the best 12-steps tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Your horizon may have closed in so much that it is impossible to really believe you’ll feel differently at some point in the future. Accept that this is where you are just now – even enjoy feeling sad for a while. But keep going as best you can, despite things having lost their shine, until clear patches begin to open in the fog surrounding you.