Relationships are like glass. Sometimes it's better to leave them broken than try to hurt yourself putting it back together. What are your thoughts on this?

I totally agree with your statement. I have had two experiences of ending relationships. I dealt with them in very different ways and speaking from experience, if you break up, it is for a reason and you should learn to not revisit it, as it is most likely going to end up messier than the first time around.

For me, the hardest thing about breaking up with someone, wasn't that they weren't there for me to talk to, or cuddle up with, it was that I really like doing nice things for other people, such as buying them their favorite pudding for after dinner, or making the house really nice for when they get home. Without someone to do that for, making dinner or tidying the house seemed fairly pointless. Therefore, whenever I got pangs of missing my ex, I reminded myself that it was purely selfish. Fairly soon, he found a new girlfriend and this showed me even more that us breaking up was the right thing to do as he seems happy.

The time it didn't go well - With a boyfriend I had for a much shorter time, we kind of broke up but continued to talk to each other much as though we were in a couple. We met up and shopped and walked his families dog together. After having split up at Christmas time, we then started dating again properly three months later and this took what had been a fairly amicable post-relationship friendship, and wrecked it. I found out loads of things, that I am glad I know, but probably wouldn't have bothered me had we just been friends. It was really messy and I definitely would advise against going back on the decision to break up.

If the reasons for you splitting up have not gone, then you should trust your judgement and know that something better will come along, just learn from what went wrong and try to not make the same mistakes again.

I agree with Kathryn on this. Whether it's an old friendship, romance, or something in between, trying to put the pieces back together after it's gone wrong is usually a bad idea.

Ended Relationships

If you still have feelings for your ex, it's understandably tempting to take them back, or try to get the relationship back to how it was before.

However, relationships don't end without reason, and whatever caused yours to end in the first place would probably still be a problem if you got back together.

Sometimes, an angry breakup is actually better than an amicable one, even if it hurts more at the time.

Not-Yet-Ended Relationships

A lot of couples lose their "spark" after a while, and I've seen far too many people stay in relationships because they think it'll get better again, or that they'll stop arguing, or that their partner will love them "like they did before" (particularly common when the other person has cheated).

Relationships like this are already dead, and it's painful to watch people try to continue them in the hope that things will get better. Sometimes, it's best to just cut your losses and leave.

Staying Friends With Your Ex

I don't think it's a good idea to stay friends with an ex — from my experience, someone always gets hurt, and it's hard for both parties to move on.

Maybe, a few years down the line, you'll be able to talk again without either person expecting something more. Even then, you're taking a risk, though.

It's easy to fall back into old habits this way (especially if you've both been drinking, or are doing something that you used to do as a couple), so try to remember why you broke up in the first place — even if your brain is trying to convince you that it might work this time!