GirlsGuideTo | 11 Breakup Lessons from Rom-Coms

I think we can all agree that breakups pretty much are the worst. But it turns out that the same romantic comedies you cry through with your good friends Ben and Jerry may actually have some real-life lessons you can use to help you—or a friend—survive a split. Thanks to this adorable article from Glamour, your pity-party entertainment is now your source of post-split wisdom. Here are 11 leasons gleaned from our favorite rom-coms:

Breakup Lesson No. 1: Give Yourself Time to Grieve (but Not Too Much Time)
After Sarah Marshall breaks up with her longtime boyfriend, Peter—while he’s naked, no less—he spends a big portion of Forgetting Sarah Marshall wearing sweatpants, sobbing, and singing mopey, self-loathing songs. And you know what? That’s OK. But eventually he picks himself up and starts writing his Dracula Muppet-esque opera, and you should too.

Breakup Lesson No. 2: Make a List of Relationship DON’Ts
Before the nostalgia and happy memories kick in, take inventory Rob Gorden-style of what went wrong, so you don’t repeat your mistakes. Extra points if you have a High Fidelty-esque killer soundtrack playing in the background.

Breakup Lesson No. 3: Get Rid of Relationship Reminders
Although you can’t completely erase your memory of an ex as Joel does in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you can dump any mementos. If you must keep them, hide them from sight.

Breakup Lesson No. 4: Keep Your Distance
After Celeste and Jesse break up in the new movie Celeste and Jesse Forever, they think they can still be BFFs as usual. False. Once you declare the relationship dunzo, you both need some time and space to regroup.

Breakup Lesson No. 5: Surround Yourself With Friends
When Carrie’s commitment-phobic fiancé, Mr. Big, stands her up on her wedding day, it’s her SATC besties Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda who are really there to pick her back up. Lean on your friends when you’re feeling down too.

Breakup Lesson No. 6: Be Realistic
Tom spent so much time thinking that Summer was his manic-pixie dream girl, he didn’t listen to her say she didn’t believe in true love in (500) Days of Summer. Just because you want somebody to be your soul mate doesn’t mean the person is actually The One.

Breakup Lesson No. 7: Treat Yourself to a Makeover
So maybe you don’t have a hot Ryan Gosling available to give you a confidence-boosting makeover like Steve Carell’s character in Crazy, Stupid, Love, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spoil yourself with some retail therapy.

Breakup Lesson No. 8: Try a New Location
Both Amanda and Iris need a break from boy problems, so they switch houses and find love in their new surroundings. Who knows? Pull a copycat of The Holiday and do the same. Maybe you’ll find your own Jude Law look-alike on vacation.

Breakup Lesson No. 9: Try Dating the Nice Guy
If you have a type—say bad boys—like Bridget Jones does, try going out with a palate cleanser. Sure, Hugh Grant’s character, Daniel Cleaver, is hot and charming, but it’s Mark Darcy who lasts.

Breakup Lesson No. 10: Doing Well Is the Best Revenge
When the women who play the ladies of the First Wives Club try to get revenge on their cheating ex-husbands, it ends in drama. But once they put that get-even energy into starting a charity, they find real happiness (and totally win the breakup war).

Breakup Lesson No. 11: Make Bigger, Better Goals
Take a note from the book of Elle Woods: After a breakup is the perfect time to be selfish. Go find potential in yourself you never realized you had—whether it’s as big as going to Harvard Law School or just learning a new “bend and snap” technique to attract the hottie UPS guy.

What lessons have you learned from your favorite romantic comedy?

{Source: Glamour}