Have you ever had to give bad news to someone you care for? The dread can overtake you. In the hours leading up to the big conversation, you might notice your thoughts rushing around in your head yet somehow stuck on a single thought — “What do I do?” This kind of a reaction means you really care about how the conversation goes. It means you love this person enough to want to keep them from ever experiencing pain.

One of the hardest parts of a break up is figuring out what’s yours and what belonged to the relationship. The thought of sorting it all out can be overwhelming and sometimes it might feel like the best thing to do is just forget about dating altogether. But you deserve the effort it takes to move on and get back out there — whatever you want that to look like.