How do you cope with the time alone?

[laura95]

I'm 16, & my boyfriend of 2 1/2 years have been in a LDR for 3 months now. During the summer holidays, we saw each other quite a lot, but now we've gone back to school & things have settled down into a routine with scheduled visits. There's 12 days between visits now, I know it's better than what some of you have to endure, but it still feels like forever. School makes it drag so much, & sometimes, oh the things I would do just for a hug from him :/ I wanna know how you guys manage! It's so painful when you need your SO & there's nothing you can do to have them, no matter how hard it is, you've just got to wait :-( There's days where I just stop for a second, have a good cry to get it all out, then carry on my business! I'm still struggling to adjust, so any advice is really appreciated! Do you have any mottos you live by, you know, things like that which get you through the hard times? Anything like that.

[kiara_silver]

Its hard, I find myself just crying sometimes too, It just hits me and i'll cry but then i'll pick myself back up. I don't think there's really any secret. I have 7 more months to go before I see my SO again. I find being busy helps, or having company around. I won't let my family see me upset, so when there's family around its easy for me to distract myself. Going out and being busy, just hold on to the thought of being together, and how worth it, it is. best of luck

[MajorTom]

Call him. Arrange a time to watch something on YouTube. Talk to him on skype where you can see his face and reactions. The best way to avoid being depressed about being apart is to be together as much as possible. Honestly hanging out with my SO really does make my day better. She calms me down and puts me in perspective a lot. So when kept apart, don't let that stop you from doing something together, it's why you date someone you can be friends with. The best cure for separation anxiety is contact.

Other than that, patience and love got to pass the time until you get to reunite.

[andrewcarlson1]

I enjoy time by myself. But I also hate being 1500 miles away from my SO. It sucks that I can only see her via Skype but I make the best of it. I will read, I will treat myself to dinner, take a nap, do chores around the house, go on a hike in the mountains, etc.

I send her texts every hour (sometimes every 2) to let her know that I love her and hoping she's enjoying her day. If she's out with the girls, I'll send her a text saying I hope she has fun tonight and won't text her again until the next morning. (Unless she texts me during her outing.)

But regardless, I don't mind the time being alone. It's a time to focus on yourself, who you want to become, who you are today, what you want to accomplish, where you want to be the next time you see your SO, etc. It's great for the SO as well because she's in college and can buckle down on her studies instead of cuddling with me/watching movies instead of studying.

If we can make it for the next 2.5 years.. I know we can make it through anything.

[Dziubka]

I see my boyfriend quite often, too, but long distance is still long distance. I
I totally understand how you feel. Sometimes it's only a few days until our next visit and I miss my boyfriend so much, it feels like we have ages to go.
It's part of being in a long distance relationship. The person you love, the one you want to spend most time with, is far away and the most you can do is call/skype them or even only send e-mails/texts. How's that supposed to make you feel, if not sad. It's ok to cry and miss your SO. We all do that (I reckon).

Try to stay busy. Meet friends, read, do sports, whatever makes you feel good and takes your mind off things. It makes the time past faster. Plan your next visit. What do you want to do together, where will you go, who will you meet, Think up little surprises for your boyfriend. Send him letters. It will make you feel closer to him and like I said, time goes by faster, if you're busy.

[Jgui]

I see my boyfriend once a week or sometimes once eveery 2 weeks depending on his school schedule and my work and school schedule. Just try to fill your down time up with activites, hang out with friends or family. I find that watching a comedy movie helps a lot. If you're missing him so much that its not barable, send him a text or email. Let him know he's on your mind.

[floridaellen]

I'm in college and will only be seeing my boyfriend on visits (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, summer). We're just starting as a LDR after being CD for a long time and it's hard! But it is good for my schoolwork; it's easy to do my homework compared to in high school when I would abandon schoolwork in order to hang out with him. I go out with my friends, party, do schoolwork, and such. I text him a lot and we call each other at least once a day. It's difficult but can be done.

[JennyRW]

I'm studing a master so there is always something to study, a book to read or a paper to be done... But sometimes I just want to do something different that only study all the time, so I call my friends to make plans, specially during the weekends. I'm planning to start going to the gym but it's being hard to push myself to do it hehehe

[Enric]

I cope it really bad, sad and frustrated... but I try to be positive when I chat to her, and I also try to forget my frustrations doing other things (chatting to different people, playing games or watching tv). I actually have to study too but I'm not enough focused... ._.

You can be more positive, you meet him really often (every 12 days is quite good).

[NaNi]

12 days is nothing! You should be so happy about that! My SO and I only see each other once a year. THAT feels like forever. Which is why I'm not always able to distract myself and just cry and cry and cry. I do have my good days, but knowing it's going to be several months until I can see her again is just torture. Our weekly Skype talks help me through though. It's not much, but it's at least something.

[HollzHeartsChris]

Be lucky you get to see your SO at all, I've never had that pleasure unfortunately. Sometimes I can't handle being alone and I cry myself silly. Most of the time though, I'm at university and I'm surrounded by friends, so I don't really think about it much. I sit with my parents and watch TV sometimes, or I'm in my room playing games or chatting to friends on IM. I make the most of my time with my SO, and during the day I just do what I can to forget my worries.