On Purpose with Jay Shetty
If You Can't Stop Thinking About Your Ex, Do This (The Path To Real Closure)
26 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Chapter 2: Why do we seek closure after a breakup?
You all know that feeling after a breakup, where you're sitting in confusion, hurt, and heartbreak, and all you want is some sort of explanation that helps the pain make sense. You replay conversations, reread old texts, stalk their social media and drive yourself crazy searching for the perfect answer that might make the breakup hurt even just a little bit less.
Eventually, you convince yourself that what you actually need is one more conversation with your ex.
Chapter 3: How can no contact help in the healing process?
I know you've done this. I think almost everyone has been there at some point because one of the hardest parts of heartbreak is how badly the mind wants resolution.
Chapter 4: What is the true source of closure?
When a significant relationship in your life ends without the clarity you need, your brain can get stuck, spiraling over and over trying to understand why your heart and your nervous system are so deregulated. Wanting a sense of closure is natural because right now you think closure is finally hearing the explanation that makes the reason for the breakup click into place.
You think if your ex could just admit they handled things the wrong way, you'd finally feel free enough to let go. You might even think your ex doesn't realize how badly they've hurt you and you tell yourself, if only they could know, things would be different. But the reality is, real closure does not come from another person.
And the journey to true, genuine closure begins the moment you stop expecting the person who hurt you to be the one who heals you. I've coached a lot of people through breakups and closure conversations.
Chapter 5: What mistakes do people commonly make after a breakup?
And one of the ways that it's not been helpful is we think more information leads to more healing. But more often than not, more information leads to more questions. So when you go through a breakup, you think, if I had all the answers, I'd be satisfied. Whereas what happens when you get the answers is you just have loads more questions. Your brain needs to fix the loop.
It needs to end the cycle. But the problem is more information just perpetuates more questions. Here's the thing. Heartbreak already creates enough emotional turmoil as it is.
Chapter 6: How can we measure healing effectively?
And I know that coupling that with uncertainty about why you've been left heartbroken can feel almost unbearable. In fact, brain imaging studies have found that romantic rejection actually activates many of the same neural pathways associated with physical pain, craving, and addiction withdrawal. That's part of why heartbreak can feel so obsessive.
Your mind keeps trying to return to the source of the attachment looking for relief even though returning to it is really just making the healing time slower. They've actually talked about how heartbreak can feel like your heart is actually breaking, like you're detoxing from a drug.
Chapter 7: What role does self-reflection play in moving on?
It's a hard cycle to escape. You replay conversations trying to figure out what you missed. You reread old texts looking for hidden meaning. You stalk social media, ask mutual friends for updates, and decide reaching out to them is the only way you'll ever feel better. But instead of helping you heal,
All of these behaviors are actually just keeping you emotionally attached to a relationship that's over. You're staying stuck because the thing you want to change isn't changing. You don't need further analysis. you need the harder thing, acceptance.
The trap of a closure conversation is that it makes you think closure will come from an external source, when really, true closure comes from focusing on healing internally. The heartbreak actually begins to lessen when you turn the focus back toward yourself.
Chapter 8: How can writing help process emotions after a breakup?
The hard part is, your brain is not going to naturally want to look inward and prioritize your own healing right after a breakup. The human brain hates unresolved endings. Psychologists who study the need for cognitive closure have found that people inherently seek certainty and we struggle when we feel stuck in ambiguity or unanswered questions.
The brain wants a conclusion it can make sense of, as a means of releasing constant tension. When something important feels unresolved, your mind will keep returning to it over and over, trying to reduce that discomfort. That's part of why breakups can feel so mentally all-consuming, especially when an ending feels confusing or incomplete.
But what your brain doesn't realize is that you may never get the explanation that finally feels satisfying enough. which means we can't allow our healing to depend on eventually receiving this form of closure. Your ex won't give you what you truly need. Sometimes they genuinely do not understand themselves well enough to explain their behavior clearly.
Sometimes they avoid difficult conversations because they're emotionally immature. Sometimes they've already told you the truth, but it just hurts too much for you to accept. I know that might sound harsh, but it actually should be empowering because the truth is you hold all the power for your own healing.
Even if they give you an explanation, your deeper emotional wound will remain open because what you're really searching for is emotional safety, reassurance, and self-worth. And those things cannot permanently come from another person. They have to come from within you. So where do you start?
Even though I know it can be incredibly painful, the journey to acceptance begins with going no contact with your former partner. It's not punishment. It's not manipulation. It's not a strategy to make them miss you. It's truly just giving yourself the space you need for your nervous system to begin to regulate again.
And only from there will you be able to mentally begin processing the relationship's end. And when I say no contact, I don't just mean not texting them or calling them. Don't check their social media. Don't ask their friends how they are. Don't try and figure out how they're doing at work. I know how uncomfortable silence feels after a heartbreak.
This person has been woven into your daily routine. They're a part of your lifestyle. Losing contact with them can genuinely feel destabilizing. Heartbreak suddenly shrinks your world. Your routines revolved around one person. Your thoughts revolved around one person. Your nervous system revolved around one person.
And suddenly when they're gone, there's this massive emptiness where your attention used to go. The foundation of your life will temporarily upend. Research on attachment theory shows that close relationships become deeply integrated into our emotional regulation systems, which means losing that connection can disrupt everything about your sense of emotional stability.
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