By Eleanor Taylor

TEENAGERS have a lot to deal with.

And almost certainly all will have a first crush at some point in their school life.

After just going through a break-up myself recently, I have recognised there is a simile that goes hand in hand with this situation: a cold.

In the first few days you are upset and tired with the sudden occurrence of this cold.

Over this period it seems to become worse and you feel like there is no way to fix it.

The second process of this annoying cold is frustration. As days roll on, anger starts to set in as you want this illness to stop.

However you are reminded that there is no way to get over this, other than to give it time. And, funnily enough, that is what the remedy is.

‘Time is a healer’ is a phrase that can be used strongly, and is something my mother has been repeating to me over this past week.

But where often many people make a mistake, is that even though time heals, you can’t let it take its course on its own.

You also have to put the effort in, in order to help smooth the process.

One thing that saved me from sitting at home and eating endless tubs of ice cream is the gym, for example.

This helped dramatically and always ends up being a good laugh if you are going along with your friends.

It makes you feel better about yourself due to its physical and mental impacts.

Another cure that helped was to spend time in other people's company. Believe it or not, sitting on your own in your room does not help!

It makes you think constantly, and end up feeling even worse than you did before.

So if you’re going through something similar, invite a friend round, or phone someone up for a chat.

Even sitting in the same room with someone helps greatly, because you won’t be feeling alone.

Teenage heartbreak is tough, don’t get me wrong.

If this is happening to you and you are of a similar age, I’ll let you into a little secret that many people forget about – we are still young.

People just go their separate ways at this age.

It will get better, whatever the situation. The best way to deal with it is to remind yourself of that, and create as many distractions as possible. And before you know it, your cold will be clearing up.