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I still love my ex. Should I feel this way?

415 Answers
Last Updated: 03/27/2022 at 3:04pm
I still love my ex. Should I feel this way?
★ This question about Breakups was starred by a moderator on 5/12/2016.
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My goal is to treat clients with respect and compassion. I am a supportive, strengths-based therapist with experience in treating mood disorders, grief, and trauma.

Top Rated Answers
SpiceWithATouchOfNice
January 23rd, 2016 7:53pm
Its only natural for feelings to linger. Eventually you will be able to look at your ex as a fond memory or a part of the past.
crownrosemary
January 24th, 2016 2:59am
If you have recently broken up with them then you will need time before your feelings will move on..
Anonymous
January 30th, 2016 6:59am
Yes, it's perfectly healthy to miss someone, especially if you'd spent a lot of time with them. And it's more "longing" than love.
kittenkaii
February 3rd, 2016 1:28am
breakups are hard. love felt in relationships could last a short or long time but it's ok to feel that way. sometimes things don't work out and things stay that way but sometimes when things don't work out second chances are given and it ends up being the best time of your life so if you feel you still love someone try and make it work.
glisteningLynx61
March 10th, 2016 6:29pm
Well it depends on how long it's been . It's totally normal in most cases after it's been a little while but if they've moved on then in that case you should too. Never get into another relationship when you're still thinking about someone else , you'll only really hurt and confuse the other person in that manner . If your ex is still approachable , try to talk to them about it :) I'm always here if any of you need me , that's a promise 💕
GeeGina
March 10th, 2016 10:15pm
It is perfectly natural to feel this way. We cannot always control our emotions but we can control what we do with them. You know your romantic situation better than anyone, so dig deep into your heart and see what you truly need, and how you can achieve it.
ArrowHead42
March 12th, 2016 3:29am
It's perfectly okay to feel this way, everyone does at some point. You just need to give it time....
Bearhugs1
June 5th, 2016 12:18am
Of course. It's very normal to still have strong or weak feelings for someone you had a relationship. You're just not yet over the fact that you guys had something. It'll go away at some point.
Anonymous
June 5th, 2016 5:23am
It's completely normal...:) Moving on takes time. Don't let the feelings overpower you though. also,live yourself harder :D
Anonymous
June 5th, 2016 11:07pm
yeah it is really normal for you to feel that way, sometimes when your ex leaves you, they take a part of you with them. and you still love them and you will feel that way for a while
lyricalscarf32
June 8th, 2016 2:23am
it's normal for you to still love your ex. hell, I had a boyfriend from almost 3 years ago and I still slightly have feelings for him. it's all normal and a little piece of you will always love him
understandingOrange
June 9th, 2016 6:40am
If the break up just happened then absolutely. Its natural to still have feelings for someone you once wanted to spend every waking moment with.
Anonymous
December 19th, 2016 10:00am
I think there is nothing wrong in that unless you are not in a new relationship. If you are feeling for your ex then try to make it up and clear the differences to be happy.
Anonymous
May 8th, 2017 1:59am
There's not really a should or shouldn't. Everyone is different. But I will say that it is understandable to still have feelings for an ex, its hard to just stop the way you're feeling and immediately cut ties with someone who once meant so much to you.
Anonymous
November 6th, 2017 9:41pm
I still cry for my ex boyfriend and i still love him.. he broked up after a 10years relationship and now he have another girlfriend!! Is it normal that i still want him and love him ?? Its been 2 years
charmingPeach1649
November 23rd, 2017 7:28pm
i was with this man 10.5 years it’s been a year already in September that we don’t sleep together. He’s seeing someone else. He cheated on me twice and I️ kept getting him back. It’s going to be a year in January that I broke up with him. I don’t know if it’s normal to feel like this still. I still miss and love him very much.Ishould be over him by now.Any advice .i joined kickboxing . Etc.
GrantC2001
January 1st, 2018 6:28am
Yes, it is perfectly fine to still have feeling for your ex. This is completely common to people who recently have broken with someone.
Anonymous
December 14th, 2018 6:25pm
You should Accept it and should move on. Because promoting this feeling may not be helpful for you as to live a stress free and a happy life. If you will stick around meaning, these type of feelings you will not be able to move on ever and ever. The best way is to accept what have been done and move on will full confidence and believe in yourself. Hope you will act upon this and may you live a stress free life .. another way to get rid of this is to watch the motivational speeches of the speakers and to act upon them by heart.
Axel1986
September 19th, 2019 12:16pm
Well, talking about my recent personal experience...I searched for a therapist on this platform because I was going through a similar situation. I remember having anxiety and just the idea to think about me not sharing my life with that lovely person create a weird not good chemical reaction within me. 4 months later, I am sooo happy I had the chance to meet that girl on my path...I still think about her and I wish her all the best but I am not holding on that feeling anymore...It makes smile now and I am on the path to move forward and to build new memories :). Good luck and please, don t try to fight it back, on the contrary, accept it and be cautious about what you touch, smell, kiss and sleep with. The memories are created from these actions!
peacefulSoul1906
November 18th, 2019 9:46pm
It is very natural to have feelings for your ex. Breakups are a sign that the relationship was not working as it was. Believing that the other person held qualities you didn't have and putting them on a pedestal is when it can become unhealthy for you. You can only see qualities in others that you already have in yourself. If you feel someone has qualities that you admire and do not have, remember you cannot see qualities in someone else unless you already have that quality in yourself. Believe in yourself and learn from the relationship about how you value yourself. If you feel less than your ex, then you might consider why you feel this way and ask yourself why you feel you are somehow less than the other person. The truth is you are already whole and complete and try learning to trust in that truth for yourself. A break up can be a way to examine yourself as to why you are still looking to be comforted by someone who no longer is there with you instead of looking within and learn to love yourself.
Demixl
January 17th, 2020 2:44pm
No, you should not, it's your ex you should feel like this story has passed away, don't regret, don't come back this will be a step back and you wont find anything but pain , this is what happened with me when I returned to my ex, I believed him and I was wrong, he cheated on me again. I don't believe him anymore,this man died for me, and I will not believe no one anymore... So to say this was my fail,and I should be smarter next time, So my advise is no, don't feel that way, feel free
ortizperla543
July 26th, 2020 6:33pm
its completely normal to feel this way, especially if you guys wee together a long time, i cant tell you the pain of loosing someone you cared about deeply will go away with a snap of the finger, but i can tell you that, that pain wont be there forever. eventually, you'll see that things happened the way they did for a reason, and you'll be able to move on. my last relation ship was very rocky, it had a lot of ups and downs. when we broke up it was like i had a stabbing pain in my heart. everyone copes in different ways, i know i still love him and i always will, but ive come to accept that things dont always go as planned, sometimes people do more good when they are out of our lives rather than in them.
Loveforhumankind1110
July 30th, 2020 6:16pm
Breakups give everyone a hard time as a person who has been such an essential part of our life chooses to not be a part of it all of a sudden. We cannot expect ourselves to forget that person and the memories we made with them all at once. Thus, continuing to have feelings for the person is absolutely justified in such situations. We all just gotta give ourselves some time to accept the changes and adjust to them. We can't expect our life to be the same at all times. People come and then they may also leave. We not only need to understand this but all accept this as an essential fact about our lives. The faster we do so, the more easy it will become for us to move on in any or every situation.
Anonymous
December 1st, 2020 8:52pm
I think that some part of part of me will always love my exes. I do not wish harm on them but over time, I have realized that is more that I care for them now rather than have romantic feelings for them. I also believe that you are in charge of your own feelings and only you can decide whether or not you should feel a certain way. I would definitely recommend writing in a journal about your feelings. Then, you could probably see why you are still feeling this way and if you think that that is a good thing or not.
Kassy3
December 7th, 2020 2:45pm
It is okay to feel this way. I still love my ex too. There is nothing wrong with loving your ex. They were close to you, and so you're gonna have feelings for them for a long time, especially if they're the one to leave. I experienced a break up a little while ago, and we both still love each other and have stayed friends the relationship just didn't work out. So that's really up to you. Some people think loving an ex is bad, others think its fine. I personally think it is okay, as long as you don't let loving them, control you, or make it so they can control you.