Should you keep in touch with your ex's friends and family? Here's what experts have to say.

• Being friends with your ex's family and friends can be difficult.
• Make sure you're allowing yourself space to move and aren't consistently reminded of them through their friends and family. 
• Evaluate how genuine your friendship was with your ex's loved ones and decide whether that friendship is worth maintaining. 

Regardless if you've been with someone for a few months or a few years, experiencing a breakup can hurt just the same. Since no one goes into a relationship truly expecting it to end, the time that you invest into your partner and their personal lives and relationships can feel hard to let go of once things have started to crumble.

That doesn't mean, however, that you have to let go of the relationship you've built with your former significant other's family and friends. 

Here are eight ways to deal with those that are important to your ex after the breakup.

Be reminded of what you can handle emotionally.

Going through a breakup can be tough on its own, but what can make it worse is still feeling obligated to having a relationship with your now ex spouse's family. According to Amanda Frey, licensed social worker and psychotherapist at Amanda Frey Therapy, one thing that you'll want to keep in mind after the breakup and while dealing with your ex's family and friends is how that first affects you emotionally.

"The good news is that taking the high road here is the easiest solution, both in terms of emotional impact on you and in terms of the ability to preserve the relationship," she said. "Keep in mind what you can handle emotionally. Will keeping your weekly coffee date with your former S.O.'s mom remind you of them too much, thereby putting salt in the wound? So on and so forth."

Once you know what you can handle emotionally, protect that.

No matter what you are going through in your life, one of the most important things to remember is to protect your peace. And when you're fresh off of a breakup with someone that you've shared your life with – regardless of the time invest in – you have to do the same.

"Almost every reasonable person will understand if you need some distance for a while," said Frey. "Secondly, focus on your friends and family that maybe you neglected during the relationship, and reconnect with old friends. Third, stay respectful and friendly, even if the other person doesn't feel that way. You'll hopefully be able to retain relationships that you really care about while minimizing the negative emotional impact on yourself."

Consider the quality of communication you had with everyone prior to the breakup.

If you were blindsided by the ending of your relationship, it may be easy to want to keep the conversations going with your ex's friends and family as an attempt to revive the love. That doesn't mean, however, that this method will always work. And according to Dr. Damian J. Sendler, forensic sexologist, chief of sexology, and director of clinical research programs at Felnett Health Research Foundation – if you didn't speak to those people much prior to the breakup, you shouldn't try to pick up the pace afterward.

"Obviously if you've only interacted with your ex's friends and family out of respect, and not a genuine sense of friendship, it's best to cut all communication loose," he told INSIDER. "It makes little sense to keep close to potentially toxic people, who are not going to looking after our happiness and safety."