Now you may be wondering how taking a step back right now will help you to get your ex girlfriend or ex boyfriend back.

Taking a time out from the relationship right now will allow you to get a better handle on your emotions and ride out the panicky, desperate feelings you could be experiencing.

It's critical that you give yourself time to heal from the intense emotions that can surround a break up. You might still be raw from the experience and this can make it much more difficult to avoid the big blunders that will hurt your chances of getting back together with your ex.

Taking a step back also gives you a chance to look at what went wrong in the relationship and what needs to change, a necessary thing to understand if you want to be smart about getting your ex back.

Now you may be worried that if you don't take action right now to show your ex that you still really care you might lose them forever. The truth is this will only make your ex more upset right now.

So while your initial reaction may be to keep in constant contact, it will only make things worse instead of better. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder." If you want to get back with your ex you need to give them time to miss you, and how can they miss you if you won't leave them alone?

And even if you are worried that your ex girlfriend or boyfriend may end up with someone else right now, the majority of rebound relationships don't last so it's important that you bide your time and make the right moves that are more likely to put the odds in your favor that you will get your ex back.

You need your ex to feel that you respect them, and that you understand their concerns, and start to miss you. A cooling off period will allow these things to happen, and giving your ex space and room to breath right now will also help you to appear more collected, calm and mature, even if you don't feel that way yet. These qualities will make you much more attractive to your ex, and it will be a lot easier to reopen the lines of communication when there's been more time and distance between both of you.

So use this cooling off period to get your head on straight and work on the areas you need to change and then it will be time to begin following a smarter strategy for getting your ex girlfriend or ex boyfriend back.