What Is a Rebound Relationship, and Is it Harmful?

When one door shuts another one opens, is a proverb that you’ve undoubtedly heard if you’ve ever experienced a breakup. Or perhaps someone informed you that every ending is a new beginning. Additionally, there’s the sage advice that the greatest way to get over someone is to get under them. Although such clichés may be true, they may go against other post-breakup advice: Before you return to the world, take some time for yourself instead of doing a rebound.

What Is a Rebound Relationship, and Is It Harmful?What Is a Rebound Relationship?

Despite the difficulties of a breakup, you may discover that you have alternatives for moving on very soon. The rebound relationship. The origin of the phrase “rebound relationship” is unclear, but picture your tiny heart as a basketball careening into the hoop of enduring love. When you abruptly hit the rim and bounce away from your previous relationship, you were in the air and poised to break through the net. These post-breakup circumstances make you eager for a rebound.

The basketball metaphor is admittedly a little grim, which may help to explain why rebounding has such a terrible connotation. However, it may also be rather accurate. You could move about a little bit after a breakup while you go through the rebounding process and you may go on more dates than usual.

What Could Go Wrong With Rebound Relationships?

As you might expect, rebounding isn’t necessarily bad. According to specialists, rebounding gets a poor name because a lot of people link rebounding with hasty negative judgments, and that may be the case, but it’s not always the case. “When people are recovering, they may be searching for strategies to restore their sense of self-worth. That could entail agreeing to more dates than usual. It could mean being a little more impulsive, but that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing,” she says, adding that it can be an opportunity to rediscover parts of yourself that you may have lost in your last relationship.

When Is the Time to End This Relationship?

You don’t have to end your relationship with the person you adore if you’re not in a dangerous or unhealthy circumstance. However, experts advise that you “evaluate whether or not you’re doing it with the appropriate motives.” To get insight into how you feel about the past, how you perceive the future, and ultimately how you perceive yourself, check in with yourself.

Pro-tip: You could be in a less-than-healthy rebound scenario if you’re worried about how envious your ex would be if they saw you. This might be worth discussing your sentiments with friends for support, writing in a notebook, or just thinking about what you want out of the circumstance.