Divorce is an exhausting process and can have lasting effects well after it’s over. Feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression can overcast a time where you should be able to freely pursue new experiences. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get your life back on the right track. To help deal with these troubles, we’ve put together some tips for combatting post-divorce depression.
Post-Divorce Depression: Getting Back on the Right Track
Don’t Blame Yourself
One of the most common symptoms of post-divorce depression is being hard on oneself. You might look back on your marriage and think of all the things you “should’ve done better”. Additionally, if you were the one who wanted the divorce, you might place all the blame for your marriage not working on your own shoulders.
Not only are these feelings of blame unhealthy, they are also not entirely correct. Marriages are a two-person effort, and the fact is your former spouse also shares some of the fault for your marriage not working. It’s healthy to think about what you’d want to do better in the future. However, you shouldn’t get caught up in the “should’ve, would’ve, could’ve”.
Know You’re Not Alone
Post-divorce depression can lead to feelings of isolation. You might think that you have no one who is willing to listen to what you’re feeling, or that what you’re feeling isn’t important. Truth is you probably have more people willing to help you than you realize. Close friends and family are going to be more than willing to help you and give you a place to get your thoughts out.
Professional help from therapists are also great ways to learn how to deal with the emotions you’re feeling. Furthermore, support groups are great to see what you’re going through is perfectly normal. Here, you can give and get support from those who know exactly what you’re feeling.
Keep Yourself Occupied
After a divorce, you might feel like you’ve somehow lost progress in your life and being to fall into that post-divorce depression slump. Truth is, you actually have made quite a lot! It takes a lot of resolve to go through with a divorce, and that resolve doesn’t have to go away after the fact. Instead, you can channel it into doing things you’ve always wanted to.
Maybe you want to get back into an old hobby, or pick up a new one. Or, maybe you’d like to finally read that book or watch that show you’ve had in your backlog. Whatever it may be, keeping yourself occupied is a great way to see that your life isn’t “over” after divorce; it’s just starting a new phase.
