Everyone knows that a divorce can be extremely stressful. It is a huge change for the divorcing couple and their children. Here are some ideas to help you keep your sanity during this difficult and painful time:
- See a good mental health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist or clinical social worker). Such a therapist can enable you to maintain your stability and enhance your support system.
- If you are not being seriously abused and neither you nor your spouse are in it for the fight, then consider collaborative law or mediation as the process for resolving your divorce instead of utilizing the court –based adversarial system.
- Eat healthy foods and get plenty of aerobic exercise. I’ll neverforget my client years ago (before collaborative law was invented) who was in a rage when she retained me after learning that her husband infected her with a sexually transmitted disease. After a few months of hard-hitting and expensive divorce litigation, a friend of hers recommended that she take up kick boxing. She became a different person – much less vindictive and much more stable and rational – and her case was settled to her satisfaction within a couple of months thereafter. She saved herself over $100,000 in legal fees.
- Do something for yourself for fun, that is good and wholesome and not too expensive. It might be something you have wanted to do for a long time. This advice is simple and very powerful and is recommended by one of the best psychiatrists I know. Such fun activities might include a traditional sport (golf, tennis, basketball), an off-beat sport (archery, martial arts), reading, dance lessons, an adult-ed class, joining a fitness center, or a hobby.
- Pick a divorce attorney who is sensitive to your needs.
