So I'm Not Crazy
Ok, first of all I wanted to say that this site was exactly what I needed..
Let me start from by saying I am you 10 months from now.. I can tell you exactly how it went down for me.
She was my first for everything, go together sr yr of HS and went to college together. Even got a house together and I was about to propose. 7 yrs of us being together and I loved her more than life itself. She wasn't the hottest, cutest, smartest, or funniest, but she loved me with all her heart and soul. Well I went through a rough patch with my Job and had to start traveling 95% of the time. We began to fight, argue, and the communication died. We continued to try over and over but it just seemed to no work. I don't want to get into the details but eventually one night she came to me crying and asked me to leave the house. The house we lived in together and bought together. My whole world shattered. I could barely function. Basically everything that was said in the prior comments and then some. If hell does exit, I definitely got a taste of it....
Fast forward 10 months... I am dating someone new who is amazing. She is beautiful, smart and cultured, but I still get waves of sickness to my stomach bc its not my ex. My problem I have discovered is that I think i will always see any girl from here on out as a comparison to my ex. I will always judge her and think of her as "not good enough" for w/e reason. My ex was the standard in my life and now I dont think I can ever get over it. I know she isnt the same girl bc I did the whole "let's try and talk and work things out". Let me tell you it doesn't work. Pain is there, trust is lost, and you nor her are the same person. The hardest concept you will have to learn is that you will never be able to go back to what you had. No matter how fantastic she/you were, it will always be in the past.
My advice to you is the same advice others gave. This can be hard, no reason to make it harder. Immediately delete your songs that remind you of her, get rid of the pics, leave out the mutual friends, keep on. Perseverance is key bc if you stop and dwell, its over. It will eat you up inside and destroy you to the point suicidal thoughts. I can close my eyes now and see her just like she is right next to me, but that just brings pain.
The good news is that what ppl say on here is good stuff. The knowledge of what happened will never go away, nor will you ever forget, it will stay with you the rest of your life, but coping with it DOES GET BETTER. Eventually you go from, "fk my life, to my life sucks, to this sucks but w/e, to ok what am i doing this weekend"... It's a process, more emotional than mental. You can hurry this up, so don't ignore the pain, but also don't dwell on it. I hate to say this to you but only time will eventually heal all wounds. Hang in there brother, I'm in the same boat and others are too. Your never alone whether you think so or not.