One of the most important steps that divorced parents can take
before getting remarried is to let go of the strong emotions from their divorce.
These are the emotions that hold us prisoners to our thoughts. They keep us
focused on what "was", "what could have been", or "what should have been".
There's little room for "what can be."
Moving past these emotions, is, of
course, a lot easier said than done. Unfortunately, there's no magic pill that
suddenly makes you feel better. It's the "going through" that helps us to grow.
This month, I'd like to take a look at three of the most common feelings
experienced by divorced parents and discuss why it's important to put those to
rest.
SADNESS
Sadness comes from
many situations in a divorce. It can be when you realize that the hopes and
dreams you had for the future with your spouse have died. For some people this
sadness comes while they're still in the marriage and realize it's dying.
Sadness occurs during the divorce when everyone is forced to acknowledge the
fact that the marriage is ending,
rolex submariner replica.
After the divorce, it's usually brought on by trying to help the children deal
with the changes in their lives as well as grieving the loss of the family you
had.
What's the problem with being sad?
Once again, the problem
lies in the amount of time and also the intensity. Adults deal with grief most
strongly at the point when the incident occurs. We have ups and downs, but
usually are on a healing path as time moves forward. If we just continue to fall
deeper and deeper into sadness, depression may strike - effecting every area of
our lives.
Depression prevents us from being there emotionally for our
children. The sadness also puts you at risk for isolating yourself at a time
when you may really need supports. Friends may try to encourage you to go out
and have fun, but you refuse. This only escalates your feelings of sadness
because you are alone.
LONELINESS
Adjusting to being alone after
marriage is a hard task. We become used to having another adult in the house
even if they weren't especially helpful. There's a comfort level to knowing
somebody else is there. That's gone once the spouse moves out during the
divorce. You are left alone with the children. Then when the kids are spending
time with your ex-spouse, that leaves you ALONE.
What's the problem with
being lonely?
Loneliness can be especially dangerous for a newly divorced
parent. This is the driving force behind people rushing into a new relationship.
It can be uncomfortable to sit at home by yourself on a weekend while the kids
are with your ex. Climbing into an empty bed every night can be
hard.
While hard,
moncler,
this is a HUGE predictor in remarriage success or failure. People who rush into
a new relationship due to fears of being alone aren't very choosy. They also
haven't taken a good look at themselves to see what went wrong in their
marriage. Both of those factors combined create an ideal situation for ending up
in a relationship with someone very much like your ex-spouse. On the surface
they make look like the complete opposite, but deep down, they're probably very
similar.
ANGER
This is usually the one that people are willing to
talk about,
moncler outlet. I don't
know too many people who've gone through a divorce and smiled about it
throughout the whole process. There are countless reasons why anger comes up no
matter who initiated the divorce.
After the divorce, anger can continue
to infiltrate your life. You may be upset about your ex-spouse's relationship
with your children. You may be angry about your changed financial situation.
Feeling angry with everything that's changed in your life as a result of the
divorce is normal.
What's the problem with being angry?
The short
answer is "nothing." Everyone's entitled to be upset,
adidas jeremy scott. Divorce is
a major, life changing event. We don't usually like too much change at once. The
problem is when the level of anger you feel stays the same or intensifies over
time.
Remember the old saying, "Time heals all wounds"? There is a lot of
truth to that. If you're not "healing" then you're getting stuck. That anger
won't allow you to be the parent you need to be. It also won't allow you to be
the partner you need to be in future relationships.
While each of these
emotions are very normal and to be expected - it's all up to you and how you
handle them in deciding if you're moving toward a place of growth or a place of
repeating the past. No one enjoys these feelings and for some us it's even hard
to admit that we have them. But, trying to ignore them by jumping into a new
relationship in hopes of skipping over them just doesn't work. What you'll end
up with is another broken heart and possibly another broken
marriage