You broke up. You were heartbroken. Now your ex wants you back. Suddenly you're caught in a dispute between your heart and your head and are faced with one of the most trying questions of any relationship: "When do you take him or her back?"

Luckily you have the advantage of using logic above emotion. You must first ask yourself the question of if, not when. After all, it wasn't picture perfect if it ended. Think back to the breakup itself. You've been given two great blessings: time and space. Space allows you to look at the relationship from your individual perspective, and time allows you to think logically, separating it from your emotions. As my mother says, "I think when we're in relationships we're just stupid," which is very true. When you're out of it you're truly able to think, and not just feel.

If you broke it off, list your reasons. If you were dumped think of the manner in which it happened and the reason it was done. Think of every reason why it wasn't working when you were together. You also need to think of every reason that it did work at one point and carefully consider what drew you to the person initially.

Are you willing to cope with all of these factors again? You need to carefully and consciously analyze this list. You need to first decide on your own if you are willing to deal with any of the listed problems again. You also must decide if by accepting to do so you would be jeopardizing your own self respect.

If you decided that you can accept some of your differences but have issues you need to discuss, you absolutely must! Communication is quite often the most overlooked but the most important aspect of any relationship. Talk about it all.

Anything and everything that has been on your mind since the breakup must be discussed before considering dating the person again. Problems don't disappear: they are denied until they resurface and believe me, they will. The relationship will never be the same. You need to decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Don't be afraid to reject the offer if you have decided that it's not the best option for you. You have to be very careful. Don't jump back into it because it was familiar and comfortable. It is hard without the person, I agree with that.

But don't be afraid to push through the tedious process if the relationship wasn't working. You will find someone else; it just might take time.

If you do decide to try it again you need to approach it with a whole new attitude. You both need to discuss what worked and what didn't, and then you both need to decide what to change. If you're going to try it again, you're going to have to be willing to put your whole heart and soul back into it with no inhibitions.

If you should find yourself presented with this offer take some time and think it through. Think with your head and your heart and decide if, not when, to take him or her back.