The Half-life of Divorce

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Divorce is hard. Often both parents come out of the ordeal with hard feelings and resentment. You are the only one who can deal with your negative feelings. And you’re not going to be able to move on, to find another loving relationship, without dealing with them, so let’s get started.

Anger directed at your ex is anger towards yourself and, if you have kids, the ones you love.
Even the snarky text reply has consequences. Just don’t do it.
Positive energy is often returned. Be positive, always.
If you have kids think of them before every interaction with your coparent.
The anger you have at your ex is equal to the internal anger you have with yourself at the failure of your relationship.
Processing and letting go of anger at you ex is the most productive exercise you can do.
Mental fitness comes before physical fitness, though the two are closely tied. If you are sad or mad, unless you know how to use those feelings for motivation, it is hard to get out there and exercise, especially in the heat of a Texas summer or the cold of a New England winter.
Forgiving yourself comes first. Then you can forgive the other person.
Neither of you is at fault. Even if the other parent initiated the divorce, it’s now water under the bridge and time to get on with the next phase of your life.
No matter how bad you feel about the divorce, the loss of time with your kids, your ultimate responsibility is to heal yourself. Everything else stems from you getting, happier, healthier, and stronger.

In future posts I’m going to take on each one of these points in a separate article. But here is a brief encouragement to get you started.

Pain is an indication that something is unbalanced. Your sadness and pain at the divorce is no longer about your ex. Only you can deal with your frustration and negative feelings. So let’s get going.

Exercise (if it’s been a while, just start walking more aisles at the grocery store.
Eat good food
Get plenty of sleep
No matter how you feel, accept all invitations to be with others
Use entertainment sparingly
Don’t drink (sorry, the depressant effect of alcohol is working against you)
Pray or be spiritual in your own way
Cultivate gratitude (just count off the things you are grateful for upon waking and before you go to sleep.

You can get happy again. You can forgive your ex. And if you’re willing to work at staying positive you can find joy and love in your life again.

Always Love,

John McElhenney
@wholeparent

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