Every significant moment in our lives, good or bad, is going to have its mental and emotional effects. Whether you’ve just had a baby, bought your first home, lost a loved one, or your first child goes to college; whatever moment or milestone that happens to us is going to impact our mental health, either by boosting our confidence, building character or testing us.
One of the most life changing experiences anyone can ever go through is the end of a marriage. According to JJH Law Offices, “even if divorce is something that you decided to do for your happiness, it’s still a hard thing to go through. We experience so many emotions when we go through divorce, and in different stages. Before we initiate the divorce, we might feel a certain way, which might differ to how we will feel going through the negotiations.” Even your lawyers understand this and they are there to support you. Visit their website https://www.ljacobsonlaw.com/pa/divorce-attorney-harrisburg/ to find out how lawyers can support you in this process.
Either way, divorce is going to leave us with certain emotions and even mindsets and that doesn’t mean that all of them are negative. It’s a mix of different emotions and it can either take its toll on mental health or boost our mental health. So how does divorce affect our mental health? Here’s what you can expect if you or a loved one is going through a divorce.
Anxiety and Stress
Divorce is a significantly traumatic experience, especially when it’s fresh and we’re still processing all the emotions. It’s common to find ourselves with distressing thoughts because the family unit and relationship that had become a safe space is now crumbling. That can trigger a fear response and anxiety because it feels like everything we know is changing. Stress can also be brought on by financial worries, concerns for our children and fear of loneliness. All these emotions can lead to distress and worry, which is entirely normal.
Depression
Divorce is like going through a grieving process. In fact you’re grieving the end of a relationship that you thought would last forever. This is a natural part of the grieving process and that means you can expect to have feelings associated with depression. This includes loss of motivation to do anything you love, worthlessness, withdrawing from our social circles, loss of appetite or sleeping too much or not sleeping at all.
Insecurity
When we go through a divorce, we often question whether we’ll be able to find love again. That can trigger a lot of self-doubt and low self-esteem because we feel knocked down by the end of our relationship that we can’t see any hope of what life will be like in the near future. It’s natural to feel like the marriage we were in is our last chance at happiness but it isn’t. You will bounce back and start feeling good about yourself and feel attractive again.
Burnout
Divorce can leave us feeling battered and emotionally exhausted. We’re dealing with a multitude of emotions all at once, while also maintaining our jobs and family responsibilities at the same time. You might be feeling more tired than usual, even if you think you’re getting enough sleep. This is also a natural mental health side effect of divorce and it’s important to recharge ourselves so that we can start to recover.
Not all feelings from divorce are going to be bad though, you might also experience a boost to your mental health, including;
- A greater sense of peace, calm and serenity in our lives if you’ve left a toxic marriage.
- Increased confidence because you’re reconnecting with yourself
- More mental clarity and even creative inspiration.
- A reestablishment of your own personal identity
The bottom line is divorce changes us and even if it’s just temporary, we won’t feel quite like ourselves as we go through it. It’s so important for us to be extremely compassionate with ourselves during this time and not to put too much pressure to feel normal again.
