The Smart Divorce® Weblog

Staying Sane Throughout Divorce

Divorce is a process with a colossal emotional component. If you’re not careful to deal with the emotions separately and outside of the legal process you are in danger of making decisions you will later come to regret.

The kaleidoscope of emotions

The emotions can be intense and vary from person to person. What you may be feeling is fear, anger, rage, sadness, guilt, shock, frustration and even relief. I remember, as I went through my divorce, wanting to desperately piece my world back together and wanted to numb the pain. But of course, I later came to realize that if you don’t deal with the pain of your emotions, somewhere later, the emotions will catch up to you and become your emotional baggage.

Divorce has become so common today that

people underestimate how powerful an

experience it truly is

People don’t know how to react to divorcing people. There are no rituals or customs associated with mourning the loss of a marriage. There are all sorts of customs associated with losing a loved one, but how do you mourn the loss of a marriage? Without saving cavalier or glib, there are some ideas which don’t sound so bad. I’m starting to hear of people developing their own little healing ceremonies by throwing divorce parties, sending out separation announcements, burying their wedding band, or running away going on a little exotic vacation and so on. But what you also need to do is recognize that you are grieving. Grief is not a mental disorder; it is a natural, if painful, emotion that needs to be worked through!

Managing the grief

Grief presents an opportunity to make important choices and think about the life you want to lead. There is an incredible amount of emotional work and healing that needs to be done when you’re grieving, especially during the first year of tow of going through a divorce and separation.

Ways to feel better

If you behave passively, like a leaf that is simply tossed this way and that by the wind, you are taking away your own freedom to move forward with your life. A smart divorce requires you to do some work, not be passive. Once you truly accept this, you will have set your feet firmly on a path that can enrich you rather than diminish you.

Take charge

• Give yourself the opportunity to explore and consciously make choices about the life you want to lead.
• Envision what you would like life to look like when you are ready to start moving on, and think about what you need to do to get there.
• Take care of yourself both emotionally and physically.
• Emotionally: develop your support network of friends, family, clergy parenting groups, support groups and perhaps a therapist.
• Physically: Eat right and exercise. Try as hard as you can to lead a healthy “balanced” life.
• Make time for yourself – do something which makes you happy.