Is it possible to be friends with an ex?
Everything that I have read about relationships and break-ups says that you should establish a period of No Contact with each other so that you both can get over each other. After this, there may be the possibility of friendship.
My ex (how weird to say) and I decided mutually to break up and go our separate ways after graduation. Does this make it easier to remain friends? I would like to be friends with him because he was my first love and I will always care about him. I feel like I am pretty stable right now, even though we only broke up a week ago. It is possible that the weight of our decision hasn’t hit me yet, or maybe I have simply cried too much over it already. In any case, I actually feel pretty okay with this, and I am satisfied with our decision, as much as I do miss him.
The ex, on the other hand, seems to be handling it worse. He IMs and texts me fairly frequently. It doesn’t bother me or make me upset, and I do enjoy hearing from him. I do worry though, that it will make the grieving process more difficult for both of us.
Is there an easy/polite way to say that we shouldn’t talk for a while? Is it even really a problem? And eventually, is it possible to be friends? Or is that something that people say to make themselves feel better about the extreme pain that they feel?
