When 7th grader Zion Blair broke up with his girlfriend, he spent two months trying to get over her. Blair barely talked to anyone about the split, and couldn’t stand the idea that he missed her more than she missed him.

“Even if it was a heart-breaking experience, I didn’t let it overcome me,” Blair said.

Many teenagers have romantic relationships, with 43% going through break-ups between the ages of 15-24, according to healthline.com. Some teens work through it pretty easily, while others struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide. But there are ways to cope.

Seventh grader Megan Horne got over her break-up quickly.

“I had a heart-breaking experience. I cried a lot, I tried to forget about that person and never talk to them and suck it up,” Horne said. “In order to move on, try not to think of them and think about something else that makes you happy.”

When Blair was dealing with his break-up, he decided to not speak of the split. He became very quiet, but proved that he could overcome it with or without someone’s help. As much as there are heartbroken souls in school, few break-ups are reported to grown-ups, such as counselors, parents or principals. Many students decide to just hold in their feelings. But ROJH counselor Vicki Holmes said it is important for teens to speak up.

“I had one case where both of the teens fell into depression when they broke up,” Holmes said. “I don’t think there are relationships where the students are very, very attached in the junior high that I know about, but if they are going through it, they should not hesitate to contact me.”

Student behavior during these situations can catch the attention of teachers, such as ELAR teacher and yearbook adviser Dawn Rickman.

“I have two or more students address me about these situations daily,” Rickman said. “Their behavior is similar; they are usually feeling down, crying, head down. It’s part of being a teenager; they break up because they don’t feel like they have time for each other or they get annoyed.”

Rickman said she tries to give advice to those students.

“You’re not going to marry that certain person,” she said. “Just try to be friends with that person.”