Stars Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush, once a long-term item, are going tit for tat to prove they both have moved on. Now playing the rebound game, the ex-couple are both in relationships that may not be emotionally healthy.

Kardashian, 29, choose to go for another NFL'er Miles Austin of the Dallas Cowboys, and the two were frequently spotted together before just recently going public with their relationship. Reggie Bush, 25, a few weeks later decided to show he's not in remission, and chose his own rebound, Amber Rose, ex-stripper and ex-girlfriend of rapper Kanye West, who may be using Bush as a rebound as well.

Rebound relationships, those that occur shortly after a significant breakup, are rarely a good idea. You don't use one person to get over another person; bouncing back the right way begins with time and emotional strength.

Everyone knows rebounds are simply a distraction. Using another person for a rebound is selfish, unless they are fully aware of what his or her role is. A rebound relationship can only distract you so much before you realize the heart isn't easily distracted. It's a misguided attempt avoid the issues and pain that ending a relationship can bring. So while you may not think about your ex because you're enjoying yourself on an awesome dinner date with your new "friend," there will be no way to distract yourself from your own thoughts in your alone time. When someone still has your emotions and thoughts, in essence, they still have you.

Jumping back into the dating pool as quick-fix can yield long-term damage. If you are not able to evaluate and handle the emotional intensity of ending a relationship from within, you add baggage that will be taken with you in every relationship you get in thereafter, including the rebound.

That baggage can lead to unrealistic expectations from the rebound relationship, because your ability to make emotional judgments are thrown off. In your new relationship, you'll want everything you wished you had in the old relationships. You'll be unable to see you haven't changed who you are in the relationship, so you can only expect the same things. Eventually you exchange one set of problems for another only leading to misery and regret.

A rebound relationship is like a band-aid on a deep cut. It offers immediate relief and hides how deep the cut is to others. However, a band-aid can never be the long-term solution. It's not made to last, and without the use of things like stitches and cleaning agents, the band-aid will never help the cut fully heal. It's better to take the band-aid off, get some air and let the cut scab, scar and then heal. The same applies to a rebound relationship. Let it go, deal with yourself, and let the pain of the old relationship scab, scar and heal before you move on.