Emotional Aspects

Divorce can trigger all sorts of unsettling, uncomfortable and frightening feelings, thoughts and emotions, including grief, loneliness, depression, despair, guilt, frustration, anxiety, anger, and devastation, to name a few.

• There is frequently sadness and grief at the thought of the end of a meaningful relationship. There can be fear at the Woman depressed prospect of being single again, possibly for a long time (or even forever), and with having to cope with changed financial, living and social circumstances.
• There can be anger at a partner’s stubborn obstinacy and pettiness, abuse, or outright betrayal. There can be guilt over perceived failures to have made the relationship work. There can be overwhelming depression at the thought of the seeming impossibility of being able to cope with all the changes that are required. All these emotions are enough to make people miserable, and to find them wanting to cry at 3am in the morning.
• Painful as they are, these sorts of emotions are generally natural grief-related reactions to a very difficult life-altering situation. Though there is no ‘cure’ for these feelings, there are some good and healthy ways to cope with them to suffer as little as possible, and to gain in wisdom, compassion and strength from having gone through the experience. The emotional coping process starts with allowing one’s self the freedom to grieve and ends with moving on with one’s life.