App that will help you survive a broken heart

For some, breakups were easier in the pre-social media era. You would field the occasional phone call, hear gossip through the grapevine, and perhaps run into them at social gatherings for mutual friends. But once photos were put away and belongings returned, it was relatively easy to avoid those you'd rather not see.

Now, however, you just type a tech-savvy ex's name into Facebook, Instagram, or Google for an in-your-face look at how and what they're doing without you.

Fear not. Technology may have created the problem of ubiquitous exes, but it also has something to ease the pain. Rx Breakup is an app from Jane Reardon, a former music video producer and now a licensed marriage and family therapist, and Stila cosmetics entrepreneur Jeanine Lobell. Download the app, and each day over a 30-day period, you work through a new feeling associated with a breakup, from withdrawal and red flags to anger management and obsessing.

Rx Breakup will give you a daily pep talk, ask you to jot down your thoughts, and give you a task to complete. At 5 p.m. each day, when you might normally check in with your ex or head off to meet up with them, the app offers up a final thought to get you through the night.