Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dealing With Depression During Divorce

Don’t Lose Control Over Your Feelings And Actions

How to Deal With Grief During a Divorce Separation

Men often suppress feelings such as anger, frustration, fury, blame, and resentment because they would have to face social stigma of breaking down. This may lead to a sudden emotional outburst at an inappropriate place and time.

As a man, you know what it means to own your reactions and have the power to control yourself when you and other people truly need it. So, avoid doing either physical or emotional damage. Remember that any feeling is basically energy which you can transform in a way so that it serves you, not destroys you, so learn how to cope with divorce as a man.

Allow Yourself To Grieve The Loss Of The Relationship

Grief is a natural reaction to loss, and the breakup or divorce of a love relationship involves multiple losses:

  • Loss of companionship and shared experiences .
  • Loss of support, be it financial, intellectual, social, or emotional.
  • Loss of hopes, plans, and dreams .

Allowing yourself to feel the pain of these losses may be scary. You may fear that your emotions will be too intense to bear, or that youll be stuck in a dark place forever. Just remember that grieving is essential to the healing process. The pain of grief is precisely what helps you let go of the old relationship and move on. And no matter how strong your grief, it wont last forever.

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Getting Through Divorce With Talkspace

If you need help learning how to deal with a divorce, maybe its time to think about therapy. Online therapy through Talkspace is a convenient, affordable, effective option that works when and how you need it to. You can get therapy sessions from the convenience of your own home, without the added hassle of having to go to an office or wait for an appointment.

There are so many great benefits and rewards from dealing with your divorce in therapy. The work you put in can result in you living your best life as you move forward. And that is the greatest gift you could give yourself.

  • Coping With Separation And Divorce. Mental Health America, . Accessed 5 Sept 2021.
  • Talkspace articles are written by experienced mental health-wellness contributors they are grounded in scientific research and evidence-based practices. Articles are extensively reviewed by our team of clinical experts to ensure content is accurate and on par with current industry standards.

    Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.

    Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.

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    Dont Engage In Heated Arguments

    Its normal for there to be some disagreements between you and your ex during a divorce. However, if differences begin to escalate into fierce arguments, its better to walk away and let any anger subside before trying to resolve them again later. Its going to be nearly impossible to reach a peaceful resolution if you and your ex are lashing out at each other, and it will probably just worsen the situation and elevate stress levels. So instead, try to keep conversations calm, rational, and constructive.

    But Dont Become A Psychologist

    Does Depression Cause Divorce?

    and start diagnosing them or trying to give advice beyond your knowledge that is best left to the professionals. Just listen to them, believe everything they tell you and let them know youll love and support them every step of the way.

    Dont force treatment on them, but remember to seek further help immediately if theyre feeling suicidal or showing no willingness to get better if you feel there is a risk of immediate danger tell a trusted adult or call 999.

    You can always contact Ditch the Label or other charities like Samaritans or Mind if you feel you need guidance on this matter. Supporting someone with depression can be stressful and frustrating so be careful not to neglect your own needs too.

    Taking time to look after yourself is really important talk to others about how youre feeling or consider joining a local support group with people who are also in a similar situation to you.

    Recommended Reading: How Do You Get Over Depression Without Medication

    Allow Grieving To Occur

    Grief is a natural human reaction to loss. Grief is not a simple emotion itself, but rather is an instinctual emotional process that can invoke all sorts of emotional reactions as it runs its course. The grief process tends to unfold in predictable patterns. Most commonly, people move back and forth between a shocked, numb state characterized by denial, depression, and/or minimization of the importance of the loss, and outraged anger, fear, and vulnerability. The dialog between numb and upset continues over time as the person emotionally digests the nature of the loss. Ultimately, enough time passes that the loss comes to be thought of as something that happened in the past, and that is not a part of day-to-day life. Grief doesn’t so much go away as it becomes irrelevant after a while.

    It is not realistic that grief over a lost marriage should be worked out in a month or even several months. Most people will continue to deal with the emotional ramifications of loss for many months, sometimes even several years. Several years is a long time, however really too long to spend exclusively grieving when life is so short. People who find that grief has not for the most part abated after 12 months have gone by are strongly urged to seek the assistance of a professional therapist.

    The Five Stages Of Loss And Grief

    Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross first proposed the various stages of loss and grief in her groundbreaking book On Death and Dying.

    While everyone will process these emotions in their own ways and in their own timeframe, they have generally become the accepted norm for people who go through a form of mourning when a valued relationship ends. People may try to bury one or more stages of these emotions, or attempt to hurry through them, or get stuck in one or more of them in an abnormally long period before they can move to the next stage.

    The five stages include:

    Stage 1: Denial and isolation. As a way to protect ourselves against the initial shock of divorce, we may attempt to control our emotions and try to cling to a false reality of how things were, instead of a new and jarring reality. You may wall yourself off from your own emotions and from interacting with others who will only make matters worse by trying to talk you through the initial shock before you are ready to do so.

    Stage 2: Anger. At some point, a person will realize that denial cannot continue and this will trigger feelings of frustration. There may also be feelings of betrayal that will give way to outbursts of anger at various times.

    Anger can be extremely harmful to people you still care about if you misdirect your negative emotions the wrong way. Be aware when you start to go overboard.

    Recommended Reading: How To Give Good Advice To Someone Who Is Depressed

    Contact Galmiche Law Firm Pc For Personalized Counsel

    If you are considering divorce or if you have been served with divorce papers, you will need an experienced St. Louis divorce lawyer on your side. At the Galmiche Law Firm, P.C., we work to help our clients to pursue the best possible outcomes for their divorce and family law cases. To speak with someone on our team and get a free case evaluation, call 552-4841 today.

    Categories

    What Is The Root Cause Of Depression

    Help Kids thru Holidays during Divorce | Child Anxiety

    Some stressful life events can trigger depression. When someone losses their parents, a child, a job, or maybe even suffers from several miscarriages, they can sink into depression. People who suffer from depression most of the time due to life-changing situations like grief and loss are likely to recover more quickly.

    However, if some of the situations in their life persist, they can get major depression. For example, if a woman trying to have a baby suffers the loss of several miscarriages, it can lead to depression since they may feel that there is no solution for what they are going through.

    For some people, depression can be triggered again if a similar event happens in their life. If they have a history of depression, they face the risk for depression again after a trigger. Depression that occurs after a life-changing event is known as situational depression or adjustment disorder. Chronic depression can be categorized as clinical depression. The symptoms are similar for both kinds of depression.

    Also Check: How Do Parents Deal With Teenage Depression

    Dealing With Depression During Or After Divorce

    Theodora Blanchfield

    Regional Medical Director Greater St. Louis

    Other than the death of a loved one or a major illness, divorce is one of thebiggest life stressorsyou may face. It’s a complicated decision, both legally and emotionally, and it’s not uncommon fordepression and divorce to occur together.

    Depression after divorce is common because it’s a major loss that can bring with it immense grief. Sometimes, a traumatic event like divorce may exacerbate a preexisting mental health condition or lead to the development of a new one. What are the signs you should look out for, and how can you prepare for them as you navigate this difficult time?

    Seek Professional Help If You Need It

    If the stress or grief you are experiencing is severely interfering with your life and not improving with time, scheduling a meeting with a therapist is definitely worth considering. Sometimes, more serious conditions can develop following a divorce, like depression or complicated grief, so getting an accurate diagnosis is essential if youve had prolonged trouble coping. Likewise, if you feel more comfortable talking to someone outside your social circle and want some impartial, expert advice, online therapy is a great option.

    Recommended Reading: What To Do When You Feel Depressed And Unmotivated

    Lose Yourself In A Book

    I think the one thing that kept my mom sane during the years after she and my dad split were the 75 afghans she knitted for my sisters, for me, and for anyone who got married between 1982 and 1985. The mundane, repetitive gesture of knitting, she told me later, kept her brain on the loop that she was making with her big plastic needles, and away from all the sadness in her heart. Swimming is the same type of activity for me. I count each lap, so if I start to ruminate too much, I lose track. A friend of mine who divorced last year said that losing herself in a juicy novel was a helpful diversion.

    When To See A Doctor

    Anxiety and Depression During Divorce â Aimee Kyla

    If youre having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK . It can be easier to open up about your feelings to a non-judgmental person who you dont know over the phone than to a person you do know. This person can help you get past the thought of giving up.

    Your doctor may prescribe:

    Read Also: How To Get Out Of A Depression Spiral

    Reconnect With Family And Friends

    We all have people we tend to rely on when life gets tough. These are the people who, no matter what, are always there for us when we need support.

    If the trauma of recent events has made you feel isolated, try to reconnect with the individuals who make you feel better about yourself especially friends and family members who have been through a break-up themselves and know what you’re going through. Read more in How to keep in touch with friends. And when you feel the time is right, try getting out and about more and connecting with new people .

    Talking about your feelings can help you to cope with what you’re going through. But if you prefer to confide in people you don’t know, try those who are trained to listen, such as Samaritans.

    Does Divorce Cause Depression

    Yes, divorce can be the cause of depression. In fact, depression and divorce are common phenomena that need urgent attention.

    Finding the answers to how to deal with divorce depression n get really stressful and difficult for a lot of people. Yu m fl lkur fml trng rt and u m fnd tht thrr mn flng tht u r gng t hv to come up.

    Thrrmuggtn tht u wll wnt t d t hlu to deal with th divorce and th depression. Theres no fixed answer to how long does it take to get over a divorce but as soon as you feel the sting, you need to immediately take help and continuously make an effort to cure yourself.

    u wll wnt to mkur tht u hvurt from ur mmdt fml and l frnd. Before we skip to the tips to resolve the divorce depression, lets understand the symptoms in depth.

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    Unraveling The Roots Of Depression

    Some depression is transient, such as when a partner loses a parent or other family member. Within a few weeks, typically, the person feels a bit better.

    Other times, the depression might continue or reoccur several times. Having a history of depression makes it more likely to have another episode, says Clayton. “With the first depression, we can usually link it to some event,” she says, such as job loss, or a serious medical problem. “We can identify a trigger.”

    “The more episodes you have, the less likely it is linked to an event,” she says, perhaps because of underlying brain changes.

    Talk To At Least One Person About How You Are Doing

    Project: Male Depression after Divorce

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    Symptoms Of Depression After Divorce

    Divorce and depression rll rltd. Thrrm glaring divorce depression symptoms that u n l fnd ut:

    • Yu dnt vn wnt to hng ut with ur bt frnd thut mku fl bd fr tll bng d.
    • Yu hk ur x Fbk rflr thumb thrugh thr Intgrm vrl tm a d.
    • Yuruttng nthng tht vn rmtl rmndu of ur x ut of ur lf.
    • Yur nt fndng nw w to uur tm.
    • Yu nt t dwllng n th gd rt of th rltnh.
    • Yur lttng ur x trng u lng.
    • Yur hrdr murnng th rltnh fr mr thn x wk.
    • You cry at length without knowing any specific cause
    • Theres a change in your appetite
    • Increased fatigue
    • Loss of sleep or excessive sleeping hampering your usual routine

    Keep Up With Healthy Habits And Routines

    • After a breakup, your routine and schedule will likely change you may be living in a new place, or have to get used to taking over household chores that your partner handled. If you need help with chores, you could ask a friend for help.
    • Its important to keep focused on the basics of good health to give yourself a strong foundation this means eating healthy, staying physically active, and getting quality sleep.
    • Its also important to keep up with regular doctor visits or health appointments, often its a partner who urges a man to get things checked or see their doctor for tests.
    • As time goes on, youll better adapt to new schedules and routines.

    Also Check: Homeopathy For Anxiety And Depression

    Fun Th Ptv Elmnt Of Th Nw Lf Chtr

    In n frm of depression trtmnt, tmrtnt to fun thtv. Tk thn rtunt to vnturut of ur mfrt zn.

    Jn a lub, n a gm, n a ngl grut hurh. Dmthng nw and xtng tht u wuld hv nvr dnn ur mrrg.

    Yu d nt necessarily hv to rnvnt urlf, but u huld fnd mthng to bxtd but. Tht wll ut dwn ur flng of depression.

    Choosing To Move Forward

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    While grief can be immobilizing at first, after a while, most grieving people find that, little by little, they are ready to move on with their lives. For a time, they may find themselves moving on and grieving at the same time. Over time however, if everything goes well, the grieving process loses steam and more energy becomes available for moving on with life. Discussion of the moving forward process is handled in a later section of this document.

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    You May Feel Lost Because Your Internal Gps Is No Longer Working

    So many of us had our entire lives invested in our marriage and our families. It was the lens with which we viewed the world. Our concept of being a spouse and a partner was our GPS. Whatever decisions we made through our marriage whether they were personal or professional were seen within the context of, Well, is it good for the marriage and is it good for the family?

    When your marriage ends, that GPS and final destination are thrown out the window. But that doesnt mean that you are destined to wander around in the dark.

    We feel like were merely surviving and have not yet given ourselves the gift of dreaming again. We are so busy with dealing with the daily roller coaster of emotions and figuring out logistics and finances that we forget to do the one thing we must do.

    Identifying that vision becomes our new final destination. And until we identify that vision for ourselves and then take the steps to get there, it is impossible to move forward.

    You can go on auto-pilot and go through the daily motions of life, but it will be very hard to move on and reclaim the happiness you deserve unless you figure out your vision, and have a plan to get there. You must do this for yourself.

    Need a little help? Heres an exercise to start on getting rid of your roadblocks. Ask yourself the following questions.

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