The relationship may be over, but the analysis is very much ongoing. There are screenshots. There is a timeline. There is the friend who knew from the beginning, the friend who is trying to be diplomatic and the friend who has suggested a new haircut. Again.

You have said you are moving on. You meant it when you said it. And yet, somehow, a song in the supermarket has sent you straight back to a conversation from three Thursdays ago. Your brain, apparently, has not received the memo.

Breakups are rarely tidy. Even when leaving was the right decision, you can miss the familiar bits. Even when someone was wrong for you, you can wonder whether you were wrong about them. And even when you are doing brilliantly, you can have a Tuesday that says otherwise.

The trouble with people who love you is that they have usually heard every detail. They have reached their verdict. They would like you to stop checking whether the message has been read. They may be right. But sometimes you are not quite finished talking.

There is no prize for moving on the fastest. Nor is there much joy in replaying the same conversation forever. Somewhere between those two things is a bit of perspective, a bit of humour and the moment you realise the next chapter might actually be rather good.

Until then, tell the story. Say the name. Change your mind about what it all meant. We will listen — and, importantly, we will have something to say back.