Emotional Devastation: Understanding the Mental Effects of Divorce

Emotional Devastation: Understanding the Mental Effects of Divorce

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I’m going to go ahead and guess that no-one reading this article believes divorce is easy. But when we consider the precise emotional impacts of divorce, it can look even scarier than you thought. Here are the common emotional effects, along with some tips for dealing with them.

Depression

It’s fair to say that this one will come as no surprise to most people reading this article. A divorce, essentially, signals the death of a loving relationship. And such a thing can often induce deep feelings of grief. Some may feel that the word “grief” carries with it a sense of overstatement. But anyone who has seen the end of a meaningful relationship will likely understand what I’m saying. Feelings of unworthiness, sadness, and difficulty concentrating are common during a divorce. Do not underestimate depression, even if it’s only short-term. Consider speaking to a professional.

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Guilt

A sense of failure often comes with a divorce. It’s much stronger than the kind of guilt people tend to feel at the end up an unmarried relationship. This is because marriage is made out to be this monolithic thing that people have to work hard to maintain the health of. This is true to an extent, but only because society and the law make it out to be so. The end of a marriage shouldn’t be approached with any more guilt than the end of a regular relationship.

Anger

Anger can often occur if there are disputes at the heart of a divorce. This can be a dispute over assets, as it so often is. It could be a dispute over the custody of children. Much of the time, resolving these disputes require a calm head and rational thinking.

Angry twenty something couple yelling at each other
Angry twenty something couple yelling at each other

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It’s unlikely that this is something that either party will be capable of! That’s why it’s so vital to have a family lawyer involved to try to figure things out. (That and the fact that there’s a lot of legal complexity here!) Family lawyers like Manassa, Stassen & Vaclavek, P.C. are vital to this process. Ultimately, this can help reduce anger by aiding with reasonable solutions.

Fear

What will the future hold? What sort of relationship are the two of you going to have from here on out? Will you ever see the much-liked family of your ex-partner again? What will life with the kids be like now? How are our mutual friends going to react and conduct themselves going forward? There’s a lot of uncertainty in the future when a divorce occurs. This, of course, can trigger a lot of fear. Try looking into ways of dealing with this uncertainty. 5348057660_5210940458_b

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Stress

All of the above are going to contribute to feelings of stress. This can often reach levels of intensity such as you have never before experienced. You may already know that stress is an extremely unhealthy part of your life. But people usually think about long-term stress when they think about such health effects. It’s important to understand that intense short-term stress can also present several health dangers. Do your best to tackle it. Reducing stress can help you deal with the above emotions. Remember that these emotions tend to exacerbate themselves. It can be a vicious circle, but it might be one you can break.

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