When people divorce they often experience strong emotions related the sense of loss that occurs. This article addresses three survival strategies that can help you work through the emotional aspects of your divorce in a positive way and move on with your new life:
- Choosing the right divorce process
- Developing a support network
- Creating a new and improved version of you
Implementing these strategies will help you move into single live in a positive way.
Choosing the Right Divorce Process
Divorce is challenging, difficult and often times a battle for survival. Traditional divorce litigation by its very nature is hostile and confrontational. However, many couples are able to get past the divorce and still maintain civil relationships with each other. By choosing a divorce process like mediation or collaborative divorce you have an opportunity to divorce with dignity and maintain positive relations with your husband or wife going forward. More importantly, it will help you to recover faster emotionally from the divorce and move on in a positive way, without anger or bitterness.
Support Network
An additional factor in your transition through the divorce process in a positive way is your ability to reach out to your support network for help. The period prior to and after your divorce, is not a time to curl up in a ball and isolate yourself from friends and family. They will be willing to help you. Stay engaged with them.
One of the side benefits of divorce is that you develop more clarity on who the most important people are in your life. Your good friends will rise to the top and help.
And if professional support is needed, such as a counselor, do not hesitate to reach out to someone.
Creating a New Version of You
When you got married you became one-half of a couple. The divorce process sets you on a course of disconnecting emotionally from a person you once loved to be a whole person again. This process can be painful. However, by maintaining a positive forward focus you are presented with an opportunity to reinvent yourself and seek a new, rewarding path.
Set goals and develop a life plan that is inspirational to you. Take advantage of your new personal freedoms and explore how you can create a new you. It can be an incredibly exciting when you come to realize that you can make decisions that are in your best interest, without having to consider a spouse. This may be your chance to hit the “reset” button. That may mean finding your passion and pursuing it. Or it may mean a career change or starting a business. The opportunities are endless.