For some reason there is a stigma behind ending a relationship with your once significant other.

I recently ended a relationship, and for some reason there is this idea that I didn’t get hurt in the process. People have this theory that I did it because I am heartless and selfish. Obviously majority of these thoughts are coming from my ex boyfriend, but they are also coming from my family and friends.

I think one of the stupidest things I did was stay in the relationship for longer than I should have because I was thinking about how it would affect my family. I was too worried about what they would think, rather than worrying about what the relationship was doing to me.

When a relationship ends, it is obviously very hard for the person who really had no idea it was coming. They get a lot of sympathy from those around them, and being the one who ended the relationship, all you really get is “Oh, you broke his heart”.

And while that may be true, I also had to break my own heart to end up where I am now. No one ever questions what I had to go through to get to the point where I decided that the relationship had to end. People are rarely there to comfort those who could see that the relationship was not benefiting anyone.

It is important to remember that there are two people in a relationship, and just because you didn’t physically end the relationship, does not mean that you are the only one that is affected.