13 Heartbreaking Signs You Are Wasting Your Time Trying To Get Your Ex Back

Love is never easy. Even more difficult are break ups. They bring in their wake a whirlwind of emotions. When you finally decide to call it off, it leaves you desperate to turn back the clock and rekindle what you once had. Your heart yearns for it even though your mind clearly says no. When you’re wrestling with this dilemma, paying attention to the signs you are wasting your time trying to get your ex back can give you the final push to move on.

Yes, it can be hard to let go of someone you love, especially if you believe that the relationship is still worth fighting for. However, when you start seeing the signs you will never get back together with your ex, giving up trying may be your best recourse. While there is no manual that teaches you how to accept your ex is not coming back, paying attention to the signs you’re fighting a losing battle can help you make peace with reality. If you’re wondering what those signs are, read on.   

When Should You Give Up Trying To Get Your Ex Back? 13 Signs To Watch Out For

The aftermath of a failed relationship can leave us with a sense of longing and a desire to bring back the good days. As you go through the stages of grief after a breakup, you may find yourself bargaining, trying to get your ex back into life at any cost. The question is how long can you keep at it? And when should you give up trying to get your ex back?

A good rule of thumb would be when you see that there is no reciprocation from your ex and all your efforts to revive the relationship are one-sided and might be in vain. However difficult it might sound, there couldn’t be a clearer indication that it’s time to face the harsh reality and focus on healing yourself.

Realize that it is time for personal growth instead of investing more time in lost feelings. But what does this lack of reciprocation look like? To help you understand, let’s dive deeper into signs your ex will never come back and that you need to move on.

Related Reading: 20 Signs Your Ex Will Never Come Back

1. Radio silence from your ex

This is a bad sign that your relationship has ended. It is also a sure indication that your efforts to win back your ex might be futile. This happens when your ex maintains complete radio silence. No amount of persuasion makes your ex respond to your texts, calls, or social media posts and messages.

This is bound to leave you in a state of uncertainty and emotional distress. The frustration and sadness that come with unanswered calls and messages can take a toll on your emotional well-being. You feel ignored, and the memories of all the good times you spent with your ex leave you feeling empty and drained out.

However, if you look at the situation objectively, you will realize that this silence is your ex’s way of communicating that they’ve no interest in reconnecting with you after the breakup. Our advice to you in this situation is simple: don’t waste your time on someone who doesn’t value you.

What to do

Once you spot such signs you are wasting your time trying to get your ex back, here’s what you can do:

• Respect their boundaries and give them space if they need it
• Remember pushing too hard for communication can often backfire
• Don’t set yourself up for repeated rejections because they can take a huge toll on your self-respect
• Redirect your energies to healing and moving on

2. Your ex has clearly moved on

Another one of the heart-wrenching signs you will never get back together with your ex is that they seem to have moved on with their life without you. They might have taken up new hobbies, made new friends, or even embarked on a new career path.

Likewise, if your ex does not remember special occasions that you once held dear, or behaves as if they didn’t occur, then you know they have moved on and are happy with you out of the equation.

Related Reading: Why Trying to Make Your Ex Feel Jealous is TOTALLY Silly!

What to do

Realizing that your ex is forging ahead without you can be a blow to your self-esteem and a source of emotional pain. Witnessing them moving on like you didn’t matter at all, can leave you resenting them and thinking, “I hate my ex for wasting my time.” Instead of stewing in this quagmire of emotions, you must,

• Use this as an opportunity to focus on your enjoying life
• Work toward personal growth
• Rediscover your passions and invest in your well-being
• Connect more strongly with what you do, be it professionally or socially

3. Mutual friends are mum

After a breakup, your mutual friends can be a source of information about your ex’s feelings or what they’re up to. But when these friends stay quiet or vague about your ex’s situation, it could be one of the signs you are wasting your time trying to get your ex back. There is a good chance that they are hesitant to tell you about your ex because they know the truth will only hurt you more.

The lack of information from a mutual friend or friends can leave you feeling isolated and out of the loop. It is as if you feel you are marooned on an island with no source of information or help whatsoever. But hey, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all. This space and distance may just be what you need to move on.

Related Reading: 16 Ways To Make Him Regret Not Choosing You

What to do

Here’s how you can navigate this situation so that it helps you inch closer to the realization that it’s time to give up trying to get your ex back:

• Respect your ex’s privacy
• Avoid putting mutual friends in an awkward position
• Instead, seek emotional support from friends who are not connected to your ex

4. They’re in a new relationship

Learning that your ex has entered a new, committed relationship can be an incredibly painful experience. It indicates that they’ve moved on emotionally and are building a life that doesn’t include you. If you have been looking for signs you should not get back with your ex, them going steady with someone new is as clear as it can get.

What to do

When they embrace a new relationship with ease it is one of the signs your ex is happy without you. So go on and be happy yourself. Here’s how:

• Accept the reality of their new relationship
• Focus on your healing rather than dwelling on their new partner
• Although tough, it is important to set aside resentment and feelings like “I hate my ex for wasting my time” and develop acceptance through understanding

5. The absence of romantic feelings

When your ex openly acknowledges that they no longer have romantic feelings for you, signs you should not get back with your ex can’t get any clearer. This reality can be exceptionally hard to come to terms with. You are suddenly friend-zoned or non-existent. You fail to understand your ex’s mind and are left confused. Given that you had hopes of rekindling the relationship with your former partner, this can shatter you emotionally.

What to do

However, you should accept that you’ve been dealt a particularly tough set of cards and aim to understand, accept, and self-preserve. Here’s how:

• As difficult as it may be, honor their honesty
• Realize how harmful it can be to cling to the idea of a relationship that the other person doesn’t want
• Instead, view your former partner’s honesty about their feelings as a sign for you to embrace reality and move on

Related Reading: Lack Of Affection And Intimacy In A Relationship — 9 Ways It Affects You

6. Embracing a toxic relationship

If upon seeing your eagerness to get back together, your ex begins to string you along but doesn’t fully commit or starts acting hot-and-cold, triggering an on-again-off-again relationship, you need to open your eyes to the signs your ex is taking advantage of you. They may be exploiting your emotional vulnerability to manipulate you into a connection that lacks any real meaning or depth, leaving you feeling ill at ease yet unable to walk away.

What to do

This can quickly turn into a toxic relationship that can leave you emotionally drained. Don’t settle for the breadcrumbs of affection from an ex because you’re too scared to let them go or be alone.

• Recognize the boundaries you need to set
• You cannot fix your ex’s choices, but you can prioritize your well-being
• Prioritizing yourself is important at this juncture when you are fresh out of a relationship breakup
• Remember, you deserve to be with someone who truly wants to be with you

7. Remaining friends but no reunion

Your ex’s choice to maintain contact without the intention of rekindling the relationship can create a complex emotional dilemma. It can feel like a glimmer of hope amid the darkness of heartbreak, but it’s important to navigate this situation with a clear understanding.

How do you know your ex is truly done with you? When should you give up trying to get your ex back? Questions like these can start weighing on your mind when your ex continues to be a part of your life sans the romantic connection. If your ex has been saying things like “Let’s remain friends” or you can’t shake off the “my ex still talks to me but doesn’t want to come back” feeling, the answers become quite evident. These are clear signs you are wasting your time trying to get your ex back.

Related Reading: 8 Expert Tips To Let Go Of The Past And Be Happy

Perhaps, he just needs you as a sounding board and nothing else. It is not a healthy relationship when one person is left yearning for more and receives nothing but disappointment. That’s one of the reasons why being friends with an ex can be tricky.

What to do

Remaining friends with an ex when you desire more can be emotionally challenging. Here’s how you can remedy this situation:

• Set clear boundaries for your friendship
• Take a step back if remaining friends hinders your ability to move on
• If you feel it is adding to the stress rather than relieving it, communicate openly and clearly and step out of the friendship.

8. Lack of personal growth or improvement

When you notice your ex repeating the same unhealthy patterns, it is one of the clearest signs you should not get back with your ex. A stagnant behavior of this sort might also suggest that your ex is struggling to learn from past relationship experiences and make positive changes in their life.

If they’ve been promising you that they will turn things around and you’ve been waiting for them to follow through on that promise, it can make you resent them. It brings you to one of those stages in a relationship when you tell yourself, “I hate my ex for wasting my time.”

What to do

Witnessing your ex’s lack of growth can be disheartening, especially if you had hoped for a positive change. You feel personally drained trying to encourage and bring out the best in them always, to no avail. This is your cue to walk away and,

• Focus on your personal growth and self-improvement
• Spend time to reflect on your past mistakes and learn from them
• Make a conscious effort to steer clear of being stuck in a situation where you are concentrating on your former partner and not yourself

Related Reading: 13 Reasons To Never Take Back An Ex Who Dumped You

9. Trust your gut feeling

Even if you can’t spot any tell-tale signs you will never get back together with your ex, your gut instincts may be telling you that your strong desire for reconciliation will not come to fruition.

Trusting your instincts becomes vital in situations like these.

Perhaps, you’re too blinded by your emotions to see that your ex has no interest in coming back to you. But your intuition has picked up on clear signs of lack of interest from them and is telling you: don’t waste your time on someone who doesn’t value you.

What to do

Balancing your emotions with that strong gut feeling can be challenging. But you must,

• Learn to trust your gut feeling
• Don’t silence that voice of reason in your head. It can guide you toward making the right decisions for your emotional well-being
• Make a conscious effort to detach yourself from the hope of reviving the relationship

Related Reading: “He Blocked Me On Everything!” What Does It Mean And What To Do About It

10. Wasting time on false hope

Continuously hoping for your ex to come back when there’s little or no indication that they will is one of the most obvious signs you need to refocus and work toward moving on. Don’t waste your time on someone who doesn’t value you. It will only deplete your emotional energy and keep you stuck in an unproductive cycle of longing and wishful thinking.

What to do

Clinging to false hope can keep you stuck in an emotional state that is not conducive to your well-being. To break free,

• Acknowledge you’re giving yourself false hope
• Actively work on letting go of the hurt
• Focus on your well-being and future
• Let go and move on for a more peaceful you

Related Reading: Should I Call My Ex — 12 Tips To Decide

11. Feeling lonely and depressed

Loneliness and depression can be the byproducts of investing too much in rekindling a past relationship. You feel depleted and lack motivation to seek out anything new, professionally or socially. If you have been trying to get your former partner to reconcile only to have been shot down repeatedly and that has taken a toll on your mental health, it’s one of the clearest signs you are wasting your time trying to get your ex back.  

What to do

If efforts to revive a relationship begin to affect your mental health, you must,

• Prioritize your emotional well-being
• Seek support from friends and family
• Seek professional help to address the mental health issues troubling you as well as forge a path forward to finally snap the cord with your ex

12. Diminishing sense of self

Pursuing someone who doesn’t reciprocate your feelings can erode your self-esteem. When repeated attempts at conversation or fresh starts do not elicit any response, it can leave you questioning what is it that you lack or why are you no longer good enough for your former partner.

These questions can slowly chip away at your self-esteem and sense of self-worth, which can not only keep you stuck in the cycle of pleading for love and affection from your ex but also impact your choices, especially of romantic partners, in the future. The emotional pain and turmoil stemming from a compromised sense of self are among the warning signs you are wasting your time trying to get your ex back you cannot afford to ignore.

What to do

It is time to deal with things squarely. It is not worth waiting for mopping about and feeling sorry for yourself. Instead,

• Prioritize your self-worth and establish healthy boundaries
• Remember that your value does not depend on your ex’s actions or feelings
• Work on rebuilding your self-esteem so that you’re capable of forging healthy relationships in the future

Related Reading: 19 Examples Of Healthy Boundaries In Relationships

13. Your loved ones think you are wasting your time trying to get your ex back

Those who truly know and love us can often offer a far more objective assessment than those who are in the same stir-fry situation as we are. So, if your friends and family have reached a general consensus it’s time for you to move on and have been telling you to stop wasting your time trying to get your ex back, it’s a sign worth paying attention to. Their perspective can provide valuable insights.

What to do

Sometimes, loved ones can offer a clearer view of your situation and help you make informed decisions. Getting through a breakup alone is ten times harder than dealing with the pain with a wholesome support system of friends and family.

• Listen to your loved ones
• Lean on them for support
• Enlist their help to chart out a way to move on from your ex

In conclusion, recognizing the signs that you might be wasting your time trying to get your ex-partner back can be painful, but it’s a crucial step toward healing and personal growth. Instead of dwelling on the past, focus on building a better future relationship for yourself, one that may or may not include your ex. Trust in the process of healing, and believe that new opportunities for love and happiness await you.

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