Saatvika is beside herself: she actually feels as if her heart has been ripped out. After a two year relationship, the man she thought was her soul mate, has walked out on her. Will she survive this? She cannot seem to stop crying. The days crawl at a wretched pace and the nights are worse: they are filled with recriminations, feelings of humiliation, bouts of intense depression and yes, rage that she could have been deserted like this. A love song on the radio has the power to set off unruly tears when old feelings come rushing back. Places they frequented as a couple, fill her with misery and despair.

Saatvika is not alone. The cycles of love and loss are all too human and have provided poets, writers and movie makers with rich material for centuries. Being in love is a condition considered both an ailment and a benediction!  There are as many songs written about the love that betrays as there are of the love that survives for an eternity.

What can Saatvika do to handle this painful phase of her life? Fortunately, the heart of a woman is stronger than you would suspect. Acceptance will come ultimately, but it takes time. There will be weeks and months when everyone on the planet seems to be happy and in love, their togetherness making a mockery of your pain. Some broken relationships, like shattered glass, are better left alone; don’t risk cutting yourself on the shards, in an attempt to put it back together.

The healing will happen. It is up to you to give it time and get yourself through this difficult interlude without sinking into a morass of self-recrimination and despair. If you have a toothache, your tongue tends to go back and probe the hurt again and again. In the same way, we tend to pull the scab off a healing heart and wallow endlessly in the pain.