living through your divorce | The Whole Parent

Breakups Make Us Stronger, They Also Bring Us To Our Knees I thought I was going to die. This last breakup was more expected and yet more devastating than any I'd gone through before. I think it was because I had such a strong relationship that had come to pieces. I think it was also because my entire identity was wrapped up in being a couple with this person, being codependent. It's easy to do for those of us prone to over-commitment. So, even though the actions toward suicide were never put in place, my mind often yielded to the fantasy of dropping myself off a high bridge, except I was afraid of heights. Suffice it to say, it was bad. I was in bad shape as I moved back into my mom's house to recover. Grief Feeling the hurt after a breakup is one of the keys to healing and recovery. You have to go through the pain of loss, you cannot shortcut your recovery. As a typical male, this process was hard for me to get started. I knew I needed to cry. I felt the sadness deep in my bones, but I couldn't access the tears. I wrote letters to my ex. I took inventories of what was good in the relationship. I accepted my faults and wrote about where I had failed to live up to my end of the deal, where I had gotten scared and recoiled from my partner rather than turn towards them. One of the things I did immediately was start going to Al-Anon meetings. Three ways Al-Anon helped me. I needed to be with people and not isolated in my single bedroom at my mom's. I needed to hear from others who had been through hard times and used the program and their "higher power" to gain strength to recover. I needed a network of friends I could call when things got tough. And the local Al-Anon meetings provided all this support immediately. I was not alone. I was not the only one hurting. I was encouraged to call others and talk about what was going on. So, I accessed some of the pain through journaling. And I watched some sad romantic movies that got a few tears going. But mainly, I just sat with my sadness. I wasn't inspired to read, though I did buy most of the Al-Anon literature as a starting point. I couldn't just make myself cry, though that's what I felt I needed. So I sat. And as I ruminated about the past and was bombarded with images and feelings of my ex I tried to say a prayer of appreciation, "Thank you, Samantha, for these wonderful times. I bless you and give you up to God." And I said it over and over. I learned to pray again in the simplest terms. "Help me to hope again, God." "Help me to heal." "Help me to see a future." And I continued my exercise program by walking or playing tennis every single day, without fail. No excuses. This was one thing I could easily control, and if I put my mind to it, I could succeed. And some success was important to me at that time. Alone time. Prayer. Journaling. Meetings. Phone calls. That was my strategy. And in a matter of weeks, I was having momentary flashes of hope. I would notice walking around the lake that I was actually having positive thoughts about the future. It was subtle. And the ups came with reciprocal downs, but the roller coaster started leveling out and I was having days with little or no obsession about my ex. I was grateful. I built on that momentum and went to more meetings and called more friends. And as the grief began to lift I felt myself imagining and hoping for a new relationship, again. Turning Point in my Breakup Recovery As things were starting to get better for me, I remember a distinct moment when I decided to get back on the online dating sites again. There was something hopeful about imagining hundreds of women who were looking for a relationship. I wanted to dip my toe in the water and see what they looked like. I wrote in my profile that I was first looking for friends. And that's what my intention was. I wanted to meet some women to do things with, but not necessarily to date them. I was pretty certain that my relationship boundaries were not up to snuff, but I could certainly go for coffee or a walk with some women and see what happened. And I think it was this action, this hopeful seeking that really turned the corner for me emotionally. Even the tiniest glimpse of desire in me was a welcome indication that something had changed. That hope was still inside me. And while I was in no position to date right away, I was optimistic about the possibility of having another "date" at some point in the future. Results As of this writing, I'm about three weeks in on the dating thing. And I've had some interesting experiences. I have one woman who I play tennis with. That's all we do. We haven't talked about "dating" the entire time we've been playing. I've had a few promising first dates that went nowhere. And I've got a few first "hello" dates planned for the next few weeks. And while I'm not planning on making any of these women my girlfriend, the idea of having a few women friends that I can hang out with, is quite exciting. Where things go beyond friendship, well, there's no telling. My heart thinks I'm ready, I know I'm not. So, we'll see how things progress from here. Take care. If you want to talk to someone about love and single parenting, let me know. Always Love, John McElhenney @wholeparent The Joy of Divorce and the 3 Gifts of Breaking Up Refinding Yourself After a Breakup Back In Pursuit of Love: Slow Dating as a Single-Parent What’s Underneath the Pain? Sitting In Silence with the Grief