How was your first break up, and how did you cope with it?

I recently went through my first ever break up. I'm 22, and he is 41. Here's a more elaborated post about my relationship with him..We officially broke up last Tuesday. This was not mutual. I wanted to end the relationship with him. He said that it was unexpected, and he didn't want me to leave. We cried. A lot. He did, however, react the best way he could. He was understanding, and wanted to respect my decision. He is a good man, but he wasn't the good man for me, for several reasons.It has almost been 2 weeks since the break up. We have barely had any contact since then, due to me wanting time alone. I feel better now than I initially did before and under the break up. It's still a tough transition, I've been used always have someone around me, that I could talk to and get support from. I miss him, but I also feel that this was the right thing for me to do.He has sent me a couple of messages, even though we agreed on not having contact for an unknown limited time period. This saddens me, which is probably normal. A break up will in most cases, if not all, be emotionally demanding.I've been trying to stay busy the last two weeks. This involves hanging out with friends, exercising and going to work. I have also downloaded tinder and grindr, where I have flirted some guys, and I even met one this week (without that being any successful). I should also be focusing more on my studies. I've got a big task to write, something similar to a master thesis, but I feel really unmotivated to work on this.I'd like to read difference experiences about break ups, so my question is: How was your first break up, and what did you do to ease the pain?