I never heard it put that way .
Your absolutely right . You end up loosing yourself and it's some painful journey in getting that back .
Years of pain .
Years of frustration.
Years of self loathing .
Your absolutely right you have to love yourself first .

Love too is an art like learning to cycle or swim. One does not stop to learn just because they had a nasty fall from the cycle or got choked while swimming. Experience makes one do things better. First love comes with a lot of anxiety and possessiveness, which causes it to fail. Some get consumed by it, but good that you recovered from it, so the next time you will handle yourself better. Don't fall in love, but remain in love.

Still missing him though?

Live and learn, which is hard sometimes

I’m sick of waiting I want to move on but I can’t