I think the process started a couple weeks prior to the breakup and is continuing today. I am exhausted in every way. I don't deserve to be living this way -- none of us on here do -- while she is out there having the time of her life. I want to wake up with a smile on; not be afraid to go anywhere in town; breathe and live happily; and to find the person that I thought she was. Why is it that they come out of this seemingly unscathed, whereas we're left here in pieces? I won't accept lying in misery - I can't anymore. I am so tired.
I wonder - my relationship was fairly short in comparison to many of yours (6 months). While it's impossible to put a timeline on it, I imagine it shouldn't be too long before I'm out of the thick of it, right?
That depends on what you define as the thick of it.
The worst, the constant crying, the depression, that will pass in a few months. But really healing takes longer.
My relationship was a couple of months too, not years. I rarely cry over him anymore, I don't feel depressed, but I am still anxious of going around freely (if I could, I mean right now I can't walk but if I could I would be scared to run into him). And it's been 9 months since I last saw him and roughly a year since we broke up. I read somewhere we should count on 2 years minimum to heal.
Also you wrote about having codependency issues. To really heal and prevent another one of these relationships I would look into that.