I honestly wonder if it is not healthy in closing out the old sitch to have a rebound experience. If for nothing more than to prove to one's own self that they can attract someone new and can perhaps find out some of what they dont want. Kind of a trial and error thing.
Chazz, it is healthy for some, unhealthy for others. The problem, as I see it with wanting to prove to one's own self that they can attract someone is that the someone they become involved with may end up getting hurt.
Being left behind is like someone taking a baseball bat to our self-esteem. The attentions of another person goes a long way toward rebuilding our self-esteem after the battering it takes.
In the end, whether we engage in a rebound or not, it is ultimately our job to rebuild ourselves and as you said, "grow significantly" and learn to identify what to "stay away from."
If you are an enlightened person you can navigate a rebound and come through it unscathed. The problem is that many people enter into a rebound relationship before they become enlightened enough to realize that the relationship is really nothing more than a learning experience.
I had no idea that my rebound was only a learning experience. I thought it was my way out of the pain I was feeling. I ended up emotionally attached and once it was over, left to deal with the original issues from my divorce plus, new issues from the rebound relationship.
I think the rebound also led me to a life I love but I would have made it here anyway and probably a lot quicker if I had not heaped extra heartache on top of what I was already dealing with.
