It’s no secret that a divorce can be emotional and overwhelming. You may have thought that you’d be with your spouse forever, and now you’re hurting knowing that they no longer want what you do.
Going through a divorce is tough. In fact, there are six stages of grief that people often go through when divorcing. These include:
- Denial and shock
- Pain and guilt
- Bargaining and anger
- Depression, reflection or loneliness
- Reconstruction
- Acceptance
Each of these stages is very important to your health and recovery from this tumultuous time in your life. To begin with, you may deny that this is happening to you. You may feel guilty for not being able to make your marriage work.
After that, you might get angry. Why is your spouse doing this? You might become aggressive towards them. Some people turn to bargaining at this stage and become angry when their spouse won’t give in to their requests.
Once people realize that the divorce is moving forward, depression and loneliness are common. It’s during that time that it is important for you to focus on your own health and well-being, connecting with family and friends and focusing on hobbies and other activities.
After all of this comes reconstruction, when you start to rebuild your life. Then, you can reach acceptance and move on.
Everyone moves through these stages at different rates. You may also go back and forth, accepting the divorce in one moment and then feeling like you want to bargain the next. It’s totally normal, but it’s important for you to recognize the stages as they come.
Good support will make a difference for you during this trying time. Your attorney will work with you to help you resolve any legal issues that come up during your divorce, so you can focus on healing.