It can be hard to hear your baby’s heart breaking after his girlfriend ends their relationship. You might want to fix it for them and tell them it will all be okay or that they’ll get over it. Tell your teen it can be helpful to talk about her feelings to a trusted friend, parent or therapist. Tell him to give himself permission to cry..even if it is alone in the shower or into his pillow at night. Here are some other suggestions you can share with your teen.

Stay healthy. Anxiety and stress can wreak havoc on your body. A breakup can affect your sleep and eating patterns. Exercising, eating right and getting enough sleep during this time of sadness can do wonders for your body as well as your emotional state.

Have fun! Make sure you take the time to enjoy the things you love to do. It can help to keep busy to keep your mind off your sadness for awhile. This doesn’t mean you should avoid your problems altogether, but you can give yourself permission to forget you are upset. Later on you can go back to working through your feelings in a healthy manner.

Put down the bat. Some people blame themselves after a break up and feel even worse; feeling like they deserve to be alone. Your teen should remind himself of all the wonderful things about him.. and if he can’t remember because he’s too busy putting himself down, have his friends or others in his life remind him.

Time heals all wounds. While it sounds cliche, time will help the negative feelings to dissipate. The amount of time it takes will depend on a few things. People have different time frames of how long it takes to get over a disappointment. How do you handle your feelings? Do you talk it out or push it deeper and deeper down until it’s so far buried it becomes a part of who you are? Do you turn to other ways to “feel good” such as drugs, alcohol or sex?  Do you cut yourself to ease the emotional pain? It is important to realize these are temporary solutions that do not produce long lasting positive feelings. It is like repeatedly putting a band aid on a gaping wound and expecting it to heal.

Seek outside assistance. If you find the pain is too unbearable and nothing you try is helping, it might be time to seek professional help. Talk to your parents about setting up an appointment and realize the strength this shows in your ability to admit you need help and that it is not a sign of weakness to get it.