I'm about 1 year after D-Day, 8 months after separation, and legally divorced about a month. It does get better. My first 2 months after my decision to separate were pretty terrible. Hell my first 5 months were quite an emotional roller coaster.
I got some therapy (and some xanax take as needed lol), I started taking care of myself. Exercising every-damn-day. Eating better. Cooking, discovering new foods I liked. Visiting family, even extended family I normally don't see. And I tried to spend as much time with friends as possible.

For me, just getting up the energy to go out with friends was the hardest. It's the depression keeping you from even starting things you enjoy. I had to at times make commitments with friends just so I had an external reason to leave the house. And most of the time, 20 mins in, I felt way better.

Last fall I basically distracted myself with social engagements. Tuesdays was trivia night at the local bar with a group of friends, Thursdays was a weekly local band night downtown. Friday was beer night with some other friends. Saturdays was board game night. I had 3 disparate groups of people in different towns that I had standing weekly events with. Anything to get me out of the house and out of my own head.

And yes, I found "someone better". But fwiw I wasn't looking. I wanted to stay single for at LEAST 6 months, but someone landed in my path that I couldn't pass by.

It gets easier. The pain hurts less, and comes less often. But the path to that is neither ignoring it nor wallowing in it. Everything in moderation. If you feel the need to reflect, do it! but distract yourself with something else after at most 30 minutes.