Welcome back to the savvy psychologist.

I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson, and every week I'll help you meet life's challenges

with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

Heartbreak hurts, plus it affects our judgment.

Suddenly, driving by our ex's house just to see,

posting overwrought poetry on our blog,

and a six-pack nightcap all seem like good ideas. Is there a quicker and

healthier way to make it through the heartache? Yes, we just have to make it

through the three emotional stages of being dumped.

Let's call the first stage protest. There's disbelief, anger, and outcry.

We spend a lot of time pretending not to care and we fantasize equally about

revenge and getting back together. Next comes despair. This is when it finally sinks in. It's over. We feel sad, hopeless,

lethargic. A pint of ice cream passes as dinner. We cry into our journal or on our most patient friend's

shoulder. But then there's recovery. We get off the floor, shave our legs or our scruffy facial hair, head back to the gym,

reactivate our e-harmony profile, and genuinely move on.

We're off the couch and back into life. But what do we have to do to arrive intact at that last stage?

In the aftermath of a breakup it feels like we'll never be ourselves again. But have hope. By request from listener T, here are four ways to heal a broken heart.

Tip number one is actually break up.

So interestingly, recovery from a breakup

depends not on how much you loved each other, on how long you were together, but instead it depends

on to what extent you accept the breakup.

Once you truly accept that the two of you are no longer together, you can move on in a calm clear thinking way.

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