Questions,
answered plainly.

There’s no fixed number of weeks. Research that tracks people’s feelings after a breakup finds distress usually eases gradually, in waves rather than a straight line (Sbarra & Emery, 2005). It tends to take longer after a long relationship, if you weren’t the one who ended it, or if you’re still in regular contact. Hard days along the way are normal, not a sign you’ve gone back to the start.

Yes. Intense sadness, poor sleep, trouble concentrating and a strong pull towards your ex are common in the first weeks. People also tend to expect the pain to be worse than it turns out to be (Eastwick et al., 2008). If you feel unable to cope, or have any thoughts of harming yourself, talk to someone now: Samaritans are on 116 123, free and 24/7. More help options.

For most people, yes, as a way to recover rather than a tactic to win someone back. In one study, more in-person contact with an ex predicted more distress two months later (O’Hara et al., 2020). No contact means no calls, messages or checking in. If you share children, a home or money, keep contact to logistics only.

Because losing someone you were close to leaves a strong pull, a bit like a craving. A small brain-scan study found overlap with the brain’s reward and craving circuits (Fisher et al., 2010), which is a useful way to understand the pull rather than a diagnosis. Going over and over it, known as rumination, tends to keep the pain going, so noticing it and gently turning your attention elsewhere helps.

It’s usually better not to. Checking an ex’s profiles has been linked to more distress and longing, and less personal growth (Marshall, 2012). That’s a link rather than proof of cause, but it’s a consistent one. Muting, unfollowing or archiving photos for now isn’t petty. It gives your recovery room.

A few things have some research behind them: limiting contact with your ex, treating yourself with the kindness you’d show a friend (Sbarra, Smith & Mehl, 2012), and looking back on the breakup a few times, briefly and with some structure, rather than going round in circles (Larson & Sbarra, 2015). Sleep, movement and time with people who care about you matter too. Small, regular steps count more than big gestures.

Not as a fixed sequence. There’s no good evidence that people move through set stages in order after a breakup. Recovery tends to come in waves, with good and hard days alternating (Sbarra & Emery, 2005). Reorient uses broad phases instead, from the first acute weeks to the point where it’s part of your story, and fits their timing to your situation.

If low mood has lasted for weeks and isn’t lifting, if you can’t manage everyday things like work, sleep or eating, or if you have any thoughts of harming yourself, please speak to your GP or a therapist. In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies. If you’re in crisis, call Samaritans on 116 123, or 999 in an emergency.

Reorient is a UK app for getting through a breakup. It fits a recovery timeline to your situation, shows where you are in it, and gives you a daily check-in, a guided journal, a no-contact counter and tools for hard moments. It’s built on published research into breakup recovery, starts with 7 days free, and isn’t therapy.

No. Reorient is a wellbeing tool for getting through a breakup. It isn’t therapy or a medical device, and it doesn’t diagnose or treat anything. It’s built on published research, and if things feel unmanageable it points you to real support, fast.

Yes. Your journal and private notes are encrypted on your own device, with a key made from your password, before they reach us. That means nobody at Reorient can read them. You can export or delete everything, any time.

Every plan starts with 7 days free, with no card or PayPal needed. After that it’s £9.99 a month, £19.99 for 3 months, £34.99 for 6 months or £60 for 12 months, paid with PayPal. If you don’t choose a plan, nothing is charged and you move to Reorient Free. Compare plans.

You choose a plan if you want to keep going. If you don’t, nothing is charged and you move to Reorient Free: your recovery timeline, crisis links, the hard-moment tools, a daily check-in, the no-contact counter, 3 journal entries a week and 3 Ask questions a month. Everything you wrote stays yours to read and export.

Please talk to someone now. Samaritans are on 116 123, free and 24/7. You can text SHOUT to 85258, call NHS 111 and choose option 2, or call 999 in an emergency. More help options.

Yes. It’s for anyone going through a breakup. Your timeline adjusts to your situation, like how long you were together, who ended it and whether you’re in contact. Differences between groups in the research are small averages, not rules.

No, and it won’t try. No contact in Reorient is there to help you recover, not as a tactic.

Yes, in Settings under Membership, with one clearly labelled button. You keep access until the end of the period you’ve paid for, and your first payment has a 14-day money-back guarantee: ask within 14 days and we’ll refund it in full.

Yes. The timeline covers the whole arc, from the first weeks to the point where it’s part of your story rather than an open wound. You start wherever you are.