Now that we have discussed a bit about what ignoring your ex entails, let’s explore the ‘why’. Why do we ignore our ex? Why is ignoring your ex powerful? Is it even all that powerful to begin with?
Remember, ignoring them in this context doesn’t mean forgetting them or denying their existence. It only means that you are now prioritizing yourself, and your mental health has made the top of the to-do list this time. So, let’s talk about why ignoring your ex is powerful.
# Gives you space to explore your emotionsHere’s why ignoring your ex is powerful: it gives you space to explore your own emotions and heal from the pain of heartbreak. Naming, acknowledging, and accepting your feelings. Noticing and naming emotions gives us a chance to step back and make a choice about what we want to do with them.
Once you explore what you feel, you’ll also have a better understanding of the kind of support you need at the moment and assess what hurts the most. All the emotions that we feel are forms of energy and acknowledging and sharing them helps release that energy, thus helping you feel them with less intensity.
# Gives you a break from constant contact
Right after a breakup, everything reminds you of your ex. You’re reminded every day of the way they smile, the way they called your name, or just the way they existed around you. It’s a constant battle of reminding yourself that you can’t go back. Even if it seems all sunshine in retrospect, you know better than to believe that delusion. It’s a wonder how you resist contacting them and following the no contact rule.
Giving yourself this break from constantly being in touch with them can be the first step toward a fresh start where your everyday life doesn’t include or revolve around them. Breaking all contact and ignoring them creates a conducive and safe space for you where you can start on the path of healing. Remember the wound analogy?
# Gives you a clearer headspace
Headspace refers to a person’s state of mind or mindset. Clear headspace means the capacity to think clearly without any interference. To stay in touch with an ex will only keep your headspace chaotic and would give you no space to think straight.
A reason as to why ignoring your ex is powerful, especially ignoring an ex-boyfriend that dumped you or an ex-girlfriend who ghosted you, is because it clears your head from all the overwhelming emotions and thoughts that being in touch with them induces. It also helps you in organizing and understanding your thoughts.
# Gives you time to process what has happened
Cutting contact with your ex gives you a clearer headspace which in turn helps you process what happened. Sometimes, a breakup can come as a shock even when it’s mutually decided. In a shocked state of mind, we don’t respond, we react to our reflexes and impulses. It doesn’t lead to any closure after a breakup.
Why ignoring your ex is powerful here is because it gives you the space to change the pattern of reacting to responding. It gives way for the shock to subside, and for the calm to return. We all know the saying, “A calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges.” Your challenge is the breakup, your weapon is the ability to respond to the situation and not give in to your reflexes.
# Helps you get back on your feet again
It gives you the strength to be independent again. This is not to say that you were not independent when you were with your ex, but we all depend a little on the people we feel secure with and on the people we love. Now is your time to get back that independence and stand solely on your two feet again.
This is also why ignoring your ex is powerful – it helps you break the vicious cycle of stalking them on social media or in the real world, feeling worse about yourself when you see them post general updates, going back to stalking them for any sign of hope of getting back together, and feeling miserable yet again.
# Why ignoring your ex is powerful – it boosts your self-respectYou walked away from them, or maybe they did. But in the end, the decision was to walk away from each other and not to be constantly in touch, revisiting the old wounds. By ignoring your ex, you keep that word you gave yourself, and this is what will get you back your self-respect.
This is especially the case in toxic relationships where the partners are in a lot of self-doubt and confusion, and lose their self-respect along the way. Ignoring your ex is powerful here because you get to take back the respect for yourself that you lost. You realize that you didn’t deserve to be treated unfairly or to be left hurt and alone, that you deserve to take back your love for yourself, and ignore your ex forever.