There are an awful lot of "rules" out there about what it takes to get over a relationship. Some people say you need to stop loving the person; others that you need to forget them. Some say it's healthy to hate them, while others would say that hate is simply the opposite of love and what you should really be aiming for is indifference. There's a train of thought that says you should remain friends with your exes, and a contrasting one that says that means you'll never really get over them. Then there are the folks who believe in The One and fatalistically believe that any relationship that you're capable of getting over at all must inherently have never been all that big of a deal in the first place - and if that's the case, then clinging on to the shreds of it long past the point that it's healthy or productive becomes a much more explicable behavior.

The truth is that there is no right way to move on. If the relationship ended particularly badly or was itself very toxic, healing can be very complex. Still, there are certain milestones that are good to hit before you leap back into dating again. You don't have to hit them all, and you're the best judge of your own future - but they might come in handy as a guide. Let's see which ones you've passed!