The drugs don’t work…
IT was Irish poet Oscar Wilde who said, “When a love comes to an end, weaklings cry, efficient ones instantly find another love, and the wise already have one in reserve”.
While some people may think all has come to an end, there are others who will use the opportunity to revel in the moment after a break-up. Below readers share their immediate reactions.
Jodi-Ann, 27
After my relationship ended my immediate reaction was tears. I cried for hours upon hours. I thought all had come to an end. I believed I could get no one else and that I could not go on. I was in that relationship for seven years and I honestly believed he was the one. After much introspection, I grappled with it and just moved on.
Mark, 34:
My first reaction was to go to a bar and drink the night away. By the next day I was flirting again. Let bygones be bygones.
Paula, 33:
I played sad love songs for a long while, and when I felt like I was dying I played some more. I drank too, even though I’m not a drinker, and bawled to The Verve’s The Drugs Don’t Work.
Kacy-Ann, 25:
I broke down and started breaking things all over the place. I threw myself on the ground and it felt as if I was ripping apart. I just wanted to die. However, through counselling, I came back around.
Winston, 36:
I just go for a very hard drive, blast music, sing on top of my lungs and let out all my emotions. If I cry, I cry. If I get angry, I get angry. I just let go all my emotions all at once.
Toni-Ann, 27:
Go out. I’m free, back on the market. I use the opportunity to freshen up, get back in shape if I had fallen off track, and just burn his eyes with my improvement.
Michael, 24:
I cried like a baby. I thought I was tough, but it turns out I was a real softie. I never saw myself on the receiving end of a rejection and she rejected me.
Marissa, 29:
I got drunk to mask the feeling; that didn’t work, so I just stayed inside for about two weeks, played love songs, cried, slept, woke up and did it all again.
Annette, 48:
When my husband told me he was leaving, the first thing I did was to call my pastor, run to a prayer meeting the night and cried out to God. I prayed like I’ve never prayed before.
Ralston, 55:
After my wife’s death three years ago, I became lonely and started to date again. I was with a woman in her 30s and things started to get serious, and I considered asking for her hand in marriage as I’m not a fan of running around. Well, when she realised how serious I was about her, she told me all she was interested in was my finances. My reaction was one of shock, and when she left I took out a few keepsakes of my late wife and hugged them to my chest while wishing she was still around.
— KIMBERLEY HIBBERT
