For some people separation can bring quiet, calm and relief, it can be welcome and much needed. For others it can be lonely and very isolating yet for most people it can be somewhere in between. So what is the social impact of your separation?

In breakups there can be a carving up of the social circle. You get to keep some friends and they keep some. You both might lose friends in the mess. What about the in-laws? You may have liked them immensely and no longer have a relationship with them. Does your brother in-law stop being your brother in-law? Is that the end to the Christmas celebrations that you have enjoyed for the last ten years? It can be very lonely, and it may seem that you are starting all over again after many years.

What about the friends who are choosing not to pick sides? Can you see them and resist the temptation not to ask them all about your ex, their new partner etc?

What about your university friends or friends pre relationship? Are you still in touch?

Do you drop everyone and everything and start again?  This may not be so easy if you have children.