How to get over someone, according to Edinburgh students

Ah, love. It’s a troublesome little thing isn’t it.

What starts out as butterflies and rainbows can quickly turn to slugs and dark clouds, and you can be left feeling like you’ll never find love again.

One of the worst things about a relationship, situationship, or even a crush, is trying to get over the person you once adored. It can feel impossible at times, and the idea of moving on can seem like a cruel joke.

The hundreds of Matchmaking Monday submissions we get each week on Instagram has made it clear that Edi students are no strangers to unrequited love. This gave us the idea of asking what your tips are for getting over someone, as clearly you’ve all been there a time or two.

So whether you’re just wanting to get over your Monday crush, or you’re trying to move on from a devastating breakup, here’s how Edinburgh students get over someone:

Getting over by getting under

Unsurprisingly, this one came up A LOT.

Clearly it’s a tried and tested method for moving on, with Edi students quick to share the best people to do so with.

There were a lot of responses about getting with your ex’s friends, a few saying to head to the clubs for a casual pull, and even a couple of responses suggesting to ‘get with their dad’. Although I’m definitely not encouraging that last one.

In fact, according to our Instagram poll 41 per cent of Edinburgh students have got with their ex’s mate. Go little Rockstars.

But the truth is, getting with someone in order to get over someone doesn’t really work in the long run. As they say, you can run but you can’t hide. Heartbreak always catches up with you in the end.

Force yourself to get the ick

As we all know, once you’ve got the ick for someone there’s no turning back.

Thinking of icks for the person you’re trying to move on from definitely works more for silly crushes rather than serious breakups, but they’re fun to think of nonetheless.

Here are some of the best icks that you came up with, sure to jumpstart the moving on process:

1. Imagine them running for the bus and missing it

2. If it’s a man, imagine them sitting in the bath

3. Picture them trying to get hair out of their mouth

4. Imagine someone throws a ball to them and they don’t catch it

5. Picture them dodging out of the way of a bike on Middle Meadow Walk

6. Imagine them tripping on the way up the stairs

7. Picture them doing that little jog when crossing the road and a car is coming

8. Scroll back through their Facebook profile pictures until you get the ick

9. Imagine them tap dancing

10. Remind yourself they’re from Pollock

Stop all contact and wait it out

Okay, now for some actually useful advice. In order to get over someone, you need to cut them completely out of your life.

It might not be what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.

Many of you said to block that person on social media, stop all contact, get rid of anything that reminds you of them, and don’t try to be friends.

Once you’ve put distance between yourselves, you then just have to let time do its thing.

As one Edi student put it: “Truthfully the only way is to wait and slowly it’ll happen.”

During this waiting period, it’s good to allow yourself to feel sad and wallow when you need to. Have a good cry, listen to those sad songs, and mourn the relationship (whether real or fantasy) until it’s out of your system.

As her majesty Taylor Swift sings: “I’ve found time can heal most anything and you just might find who you’re supposed to be”.

Work on self love and keep busy

But once you’ve hit rock bottom, you can only go up. This is the perfect time to focus on yourself and spend time on your other passions and loves.

Many of you said that spending time with your friends, immersing yourself in hobbies, and just generally keeping busy, all helped with getting over someone.

Indulge in self-care days, reconnect with yourself, and even keep busy with uni work if you have to. Just do not text them.

Soon you’ll realise that you never needed them in the first place, and you’re much more interesting than they could ever be.

We’re all way too busy to be pining over someone anyway x

You don’t

Again, this one came up numerous times.

Breakups and unrequited love can be incredibly hard, and it’s easy to feel like you’ll never move on. But just hang in there. I promise that over time it’ll get easier and eventually you’ll get through to the other side of heartache.

If you’re struggling with a crush, one wise Edi student said you should “ask your crush if they’re into you. It’s easier to get over it when you don’t have the false hope that they like you back”. Be brave, shoot your shot.

And if that fails, at least you can take comfort in the fact that many of your fellow Edi students are going through the exact same thing.

Some final words of wisdom

I didn’t want to leave it on that semi-depressing note, so to finish off, here are some final tips from Edi students on how to get over *that* person.

Not all of these will work for everyone, but there’s no harm in trying:

“Write them a letter about how you feel, write a reply from ‘their’ perspective, burn both”

“Force them to move to Australia so you never have to see them again”

“Go to Hive”

“Pretend they don’t exist for a while until you actually forget they exist”

“Get wrecked and buy a new teddy, not necessarily in that order”

“Write a poem about them”

“Change up your lifestyle a bit by rearranging your room or buying some new clothes”

“Polyamory”

“Olivia Rodrigo on repeat”

“Watch Horrible Histories and remember that if he’s not Matt Baynton, he’s not worth it”

See, you’ve got this.

Recommended related articles by this writer:

• Edi students share their first date horror stories

• Here are 30 Edi student ‘Never Have I Evers’ that you’ve definitely done

• The eight emotional stages of moving in with your girlfriend at uni