My boyfriend and I have been together for almost a year. Last night he told me that he hasn't been happy with me for a while and that he need some space to figure life out, so he broke it off with me. It really hurts because we've been through a lot together. I need some advice.

Take the space to explore your own life. Meet all your old friends, make new ones, and spend the time you used to spend with your boyfriend doing interesting stuff.

Don't sit home and mope. Don't bore all your friends going over every word he said to you in the last year.

Give him the space that he says he needs, but don't wait around for him. Take some time to do things for yourself. Maybe there is something that you have wanted to do and just never gotten around to it... now is the time! I know that it is not easy. Losing someone that you love never is. It will take some time, but you will do perfectly fine.

One thing that is very important, (and also probably the hardest to do) is to stop all contact with him. Don't call, text, email, Facebook... avoid whatever contact with him that you can. Maybe not forever, but at least until you have given yourself some time to accept being without him. He may change his mind, but don't allow yourself to consider this. If it comes to that, OK but for now you need to focus on yourself and what it will take to heal this hurt that you feel right now.

It may take some time, but you will overcome this with a little more strength to show for it.

I have heard that before plenty of times, but it really does work if you just back off. If he knows your sitting at home feeling sorry, he's going to take his sweet time. If he knows your out having a good time he will come back if he really does love you and wants to make it work.

Whether he comes back or not after some crying and hard nights alone you will want to do your thing again.

Read the stickies for some good suggestions to get through this.