To our own detriment, we’ve all stalked our exes from time to time. It’s fine to be curious about his life occasionally because you were a big part of it for a while, but checking up on him becomes problematic if it’s making you feel bad or you can’t seem to stop yourself form doing it. If you need help breaking your Internet creeping habit, here are 10 ways to stop yourself from stalking your ex online:

Delete, Delete, Delete.



Delete EVERYTHING. His number, texts, emails, unfriend him, unfollow him, and erase all his messages everywhere. You don’t want to either be tempted to check up on him, or accidentally be reminded of him when you’re innocently scrolling through social media. It’s going to be a lot harder to avoid his pages when he’s popping up on your newsfeeds everywhere!

Ask your friends for tough love.



Ask them to let you know when you’re being obsessive. If you’ve deleted him from all your social media platforms, tell your friends that they’re not allowed to fill you in on his activities or let you use their accounts. You might need some tough love from them right now, but you’ll be thankful for it when you’re done healing from the break up.

Start a “stalk jar”.



It works like a swear jar, except you drop a $10 bill in it every time you check up on your ex online. It might not actually stop you from doing it, but it will help you save up for an epic night out, where you’re sure to forget about the break up for a few hours.

Keep busy.



Bury yourself in work, surround yourself with friends, hit the gym, or get all the hobbies. You’ll be too busy to think about your ex too much, and you’ll accomplish things that will make you feel really good about yourself.

Stalk a celebrity instead.



If you can’t tear yourself away from social media, try stalking someone who’s more interesting, anyway. Celebrities are always doing neurotic, self-absorbed stuff that won’t make you feel crummy when you look at it, plus they essentially make a living off of being creeped on. It’s a win/win for everyone.

Find a replacement habit.



Have you ever heard that you can’t quit smoking without replacing it with a different habit, like knitting or lifting weights? That logic applies to all bad habits. Pick a replacement that will work for you, and run to it every time you feel a craving to stalk your ex online.

Get back in the dating game.



Rebound time! You won’t obsess over your ex if another guy is physically in front of you. You don’t have to go out and bang the next guy you see, but getting comfortable with dating and the idea of being with someone else will not only help you get over your ex, but also keep you busy in the meantime. And who knows, you might actually have a little fun as well.

Remember how you felt the last time you crept on his pages.



You felt pretty crappy, didn’t you? Don’t keep torturing yourself because it’s going to make you feel bad every time. Even if he’s heartbroken and miserable, he’s not going to post pictures of himself crying on his kitchen floor on Facebook. It’s only going to be pics of going out with the guys as if nothing happened, hanging with new women, and getting in the best shape of his life. There’s literally no chance that stalking him will bring you any joy.

Block his pages if you have to.



You might need a little help from Google (or a techy friend if you’re lucky enough to have one) but you can block his pages from your computer if your stalking has gotten that out of hand. Think of it as you parentally controlling yourself, because sometimes we all need a few boundaries.

When all else fails, take a break from social media.



You can take a time out from social media and beat this bad habit, cold turkey. With a little space, you’ll be able to process the break up and get back to using social media responsibly, with no stalking.

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