Divorce is an extremely traumatic experience and is up there with the death of a loved one in relation to the stress and emotional impact that it can have on your life. Recovering from a divorce can take time that is necessary to heal, accept and move on.
There are some steps that you can take to help you get over the divorce faster and with your mental and emotional well-being in tact. There are 3 important steps that you should follow on how to reinvent yourself after divorce.
The Five Stages Of Grief
Divorce can result in the same emotional trauma as the loss of a close loved one. It is natural to experience a similar grieving process for the loss of your marriage or spouse. There are five stages of grief that you are likely to go through:
- Denial is the brains way of protecting you from the shock of a divorce and simply means that you may deny the fact that the marriage is over.
- Anger follows denial when it becomes clear that the relationship will not recover and you may feel anger at your spouse, yourself or even a third party for causing the marriage to fall apart.
- Bargaining comes after anger and is basically a last effort to recover what has been lost.
- Depression happens when the realization hits that there is no going back and can be the longest part of your personal grieving process.
- Acceptance is the last stage when you realize that there is life after divorce and that you have a new found freedom that will let you live life to the fullest.
Every person experiences these five stages differently and some may find themselves working through the stages much faster than others. It is important to give yourself the time that you need to go through each stage. However, if you feel that you aren’t coping with a specific phase or that it is just not ending (especially when it comes to depression), seek professional help to move on faster.
Who Are You Now?
The next step in how to reinvent yourself after divorce is finding out who you are without the other person. You aren’t the same person as before you married and you aren’t the same person who you were when you were married. You are single and it may take a little time to wrap your mind around this concept, so don’t think of yourself as divorced, just single. Give yourself the time you need to find out who you are and what you want from life.
Reinventing A New Life For A New You
You may want to go back to school or start on a new career path or a hobby or activity that you didn’t think you could before the divorce. Set some new goals or revisit options that you weren’t able to because of your marriage. Don’t be afraid to try new things and set your sights as high or as low as you like. Put yourself first and you will find that the world still has plenty to offer you.