Advice on being friends with an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend

The first and most important thing to remember, if you indeed wish to remain friends, is to let go of any hurt/pain/or unresolved issues. If you don't let go of those feelings they can seep in and destroy any chances you have of being friends. This can be difficult so when you start feeling bugged or hurt about something remind yourself to let it go. The other option would be to try and resolve those old issues but you run the risk of making things worse. Most likely you will have to accept things the way they are and move on. If you can't then you probably aren't in a position to be friends with your ex. It might be helpful at this point to remind yourself what you like about the person and focus on that. Remind yourself why you want to be friends with him/her. You should have good reasons why you want to remain friends, things like you enjoy their company and their friendship, they're fun to be with, they make you feel good about yourself, things like that. If on the other hand your reasons are things like, "I miss him" or " I can't live without her" you might want to reconsider why you wish to be friends.

The other thing you have to get over is seeing your ex with someone else. If you can't be okay with that then it most likely won't work. You may have to put off being friends until you're comfortably in another relationship. And then of course you'll have the added problem of your new boyfriend/girlfriend being jealous of your ex. So don't forget to make sure your new squeeze feels secure before you start hanging with your ex.