What to Do When You Miss Someone

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSigns You Miss SomeoneReasons for Missing SomeoneCoping With Missing SomeoneHow to Get Help

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Signs You Miss Someone

Reasons for Missing Someone

Coping With Missing Someone

How to Get Help

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It’s hard to know what to do when you miss someone. We all enjoy and need the closeness and support of other people, so it can be challenging to be separated from people you care about. Whether the separation is permanent or temporary, it is perfectly normal to start missing someone when you are apart.

Whether you’re missing a friend who has moved away, moving on after adivorce, orgrievingthe loss of a loved one, it is natural to yearn for the people who are no longer a part of your daily life. Remember that you can value those people and experiences while moving forward.

At a GlanceSigns you miss someone can include feeling sad, lonely, or heartbroken. You might miss them because they are far away, or it might be because the relationship ended. No matter the cause, finding effective ways to cope is essential. Strategies that can help include:Accepting your feelingsAvoiding ruminationFinding distractionsReaching out and making connectionsPracticing gratitudeTaking care of yourselfThis article covers what to do if you are missing someone. It also discusses coping with these feelings and ways to get professional help.

At a Glance

Signs you miss someone can include feeling sad, lonely, or heartbroken. You might miss them because they are far away, or it might be because the relationship ended. No matter the cause, finding effective ways to cope is essential. Strategies that can help include:Accepting your feelingsAvoiding ruminationFinding distractionsReaching out and making connectionsPracticing gratitudeTaking care of yourselfThis article covers what to do if you are missing someone. It also discusses coping with these feelings and ways to get professional help.

Signs you miss someone can include feeling sad, lonely, or heartbroken. You might miss them because they are far away, or it might be because the relationship ended. No matter the cause, finding effective ways to cope is essential. Strategies that can help include:

This article covers what to do if you are missing someone. It also discusses coping with these feelings and ways to get professional help.

When you miss someone, you may experience a range of different emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Some signs that you are missing someone in your life include:

These symptoms are often a normal part of loss, but they may represent a more serious problem such asdepression, depending on their duration and severity.

You should talk to your healthcare provider if your symptoms are interfering with your ability to function normally in your daily life.

There are many different situations and events that can cause you to miss another person.Change is a normal part of life, often taking people on different paths. Sometimes, this means that your journey together has come to an end; in other cases, it might mean that you only see that person sporadically.

How you deal with missing someone may depend a lot on the reasons why you are separated from them.

Missing Someone Far Away

While you might not be able to go visit them in person as often as you’d like, there are ways to maintain the relationship and ease your feelings of loss. Regular communication in texts and calls can help, but setting up regular virtual or in-person visits can give you a stronger sense of connection.

Tips to Maintain an Interpersonal Relationship

Missing Someone You Used to Know

These emotions are often more intense if the breakup wasn’t your idea. In addition to causing you to miss your ex, rejection can cause other difficult emotions, including feelings ofjealousy, hurt, shame, guilt,loneliness,social anxiety, and embarrassment.

Even if you were the one to initiate the separation, you might still miss the good parts of that relationship—even if you still don’t want that person back in your life. This may result in feelings of confusion where you find yourself missing someone you don’t want to have a relationship with.

Taking steps like focusing on yourself, journaling honestly about the relationship, and unfollowing your ex on social media are just a few steps that might help you move on. Spending time with friends or getting back into dating can also helpcombat some of the feelingsyou might be experiencing.

How to Get Over Someone

Missing Someone Who Has Died

While there’s no easy way to deal with these emotions, there are things that you can do to still feel connected to the loved one you have lost. For example, you might write about your memories of them or create a remembrance book to honor them.

Talking to another person about your loved one can also be helpful. You might seek support from a friend or another loved one, or you might considerjoining a support group.

Recap

How to Cope When You Miss Someone

Other ways to cope include the following:

Accept Your Feelings

Don’t just try to push aside the feelings of missing someone. Instead, work on practicingemotional acceptance.

This means allowing yourself to feel these things without judging your emotions or trying to deny or change them. Research suggests that this practice can be helpful for your mental well-being and make it easier to cope with difficult feelings.

Avoid Ruminating

While you don’t want to deny or bury your feelings, it is also important to avoid rumination.Ruminationinvolves obsessing over repetitive thoughts in a negative way. It causes you to keep going over the same things again and again as you sink further into a negative mindset.

Research suggests that it can worsen or prolong symptoms of depression, so finding ways to minimize this type of negative thinking pattern is important.

Find Distractions

Even things like reading a book, watching a movie, working out, or participating in a sport can help keep your mind off the person you are missing.

Reach Out

If the person you are missing is still part of your life, try reaching out to them and talking about how you are feeling. Reconnecting can be a great way to ease the painful feelings. You can still find ways to keep your relationship and connection close, even if you can’t be together.

Writing letters, talking on the phone, interacting on social media, and virtual meetups can help ensure that you stay in touch with the person you miss, even if you can’t be together in person.

Practice Gratitude

Gratitudeinvolves expressing thankfulness and appreciation for something in your life. Research has shown that this practice can have a range of positive mental health effects including improving feelings of happiness and boosting overall well-being.

When you are dealing with missing someone, you might find it helpful to focus on feeling grateful for your relationship with that person. Spend a moment writing about how much you appreciated having them in your life, even if they are no longer present.

Want to Relieve Stress ASAP? Write in a Gratitude Journal

Care for Yourself

No matter why you are separated from someone you care about, it is important to take steps to take care of yourself. Whether you are tending a broken heart or feeling lonely while you wait for your loved one to return, qualityself-carecan go a long way toward helping you feel better during this difficult time.

Scheduling somealone time,meditating to ease stress, or doingyogato help relax are just a few things you can try.

Also, make sure that you’re getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals, and getting regular physical exercise. It’s easier to manage difficult feelings if you make sure that your basic needs are met.

If missing someone is causing distress or other symptoms that are making it difficult to function normally, you should talk to your healthcare provider or a therapist. Grief and loss are common, but they can also lead to feelings of depression or anxiety that require treatment.

Psychotherapy and medication can help if you are experiencing anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns that stem from missing someone.

In some cases, missing someone who has passed away can lead to a condition known ascomplicated grief. It occurs in around 7% of bereaved people and leads to longer-lasting symptoms of excessive rumination, avoidance of reminders, and intense emotions related to the loss.

What This Means For YouMissing the people you cannot be with is normal, but that doesn’t mean dealing with these feelings is easy. Whether the separation is temporary or more lasting, there are things you can do to find relief from your longing and sadness. Learning to accept your emotions, practicing self-care, and reaching out to other people forsocial supportare all strategies that can help.Give yourself time to heal, but be sure that you are finding new ways to direct your energy and staying distracted so that you don’t get trapped in a cycle of rumination. If you’re still struggling, don’t be afraid to reach out to a mental health professional. They can help you process these emotions and develop new coping skills.

What This Means For You

Missing the people you cannot be with is normal, but that doesn’t mean dealing with these feelings is easy. Whether the separation is temporary or more lasting, there are things you can do to find relief from your longing and sadness. Learning to accept your emotions, practicing self-care, and reaching out to other people forsocial supportare all strategies that can help.Give yourself time to heal, but be sure that you are finding new ways to direct your energy and staying distracted so that you don’t get trapped in a cycle of rumination. If you’re still struggling, don’t be afraid to reach out to a mental health professional. They can help you process these emotions and develop new coping skills.

Missing the people you cannot be with is normal, but that doesn’t mean dealing with these feelings is easy. Whether the separation is temporary or more lasting, there are things you can do to find relief from your longing and sadness. Learning to accept your emotions, practicing self-care, and reaching out to other people forsocial supportare all strategies that can help.

Give yourself time to heal, but be sure that you are finding new ways to direct your energy and staying distracted so that you don’t get trapped in a cycle of rumination. If you’re still struggling, don’t be afraid to reach out to a mental health professional. They can help you process these emotions and develop new coping skills.

What to Know About Bereavement Counseling and Therapy

8 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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Ford BQ, Lam P, John OP, Mauss IB.The psychological health benefits of accepting negative emotions and thoughts: Laboratory, diary, and longitudinal evidence.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2018;115(6):1075‐1092. doi:10.1037/pspp0000157

Sun H, Tan Q, Fan G, Tsui Q.Different effects of rumination on depression: key role of hope.Int J Ment Health Syst. 2014;8(1):53. doi:10.1186/1752-4458-8-53

Allen S.The science of gratitude. Greater Good Science Center.

Shear MK.Grief and mourning gone awry: pathway and course of complicated grief.Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2012;14(2):119-128. doi:10.31887/DCNS.2012.14.2/mshear

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