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The Depression Cloud of Divorce – Coping During the Holidays

When you have been the one to create holiday traditions in your family and then all the sudden you are forced to be without your children, holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are not met with the same enthusiasm as previous years. It is just a fact of life, especially if you are newly divorced. Difficulty dealing with the situation does not end, but becomes increasingly challenging when the other parent decides to violate the custody arrangement or even worse decides to take the kids during the holidays for an extended period despite communicating that you have plans. Forget jungle emotions, be ready for an entirely new emotional shift.

This shift is called the depression cloud of divorce and it settles in as you near the end of your divorce case. There has been so much hurt and pain leading up to finalization, by the time you reach the end you are completely numb from head to toe (which occurs from a high conflict divorce like mine). Suffering is hard. Suffering without cause is even harder. The person that you once treasured has squandered your love and treated you like garbage for a lengthy period. It happened many times before the divorce; however, when you are a forgiving person you bounce back, and the marriage commitment keeps you grounded. If that’s you, you have a high tolerance for pain like me. When you have a hard heart, you file for divorce which was said in scripture way before my time. God’s word is the only book that acts as a remedy to the human condition.

* There is no way to cope during the holidays, that’s the hard truth.

* You must face the pain and endure.

* You must recognize the cloud of divorce, so it doesn’t consume you.

* You must persevere.

The only way that you can keep things straight is relying on the truth of God’s word.

People are going to disappoint. All people are flawed. You cannot rely on people. People are just a vapor. Accomplishments by people die with them. Inventions by people get used and possibly warped by others after you’re gone. Every hurt inflicted by people on others reflects their heart condition and it is imperative that you do not give them control over you by accepting the blame, because they need a scapegoat.

* Take one day at a time.

* Breathe in and out.

* Be ready for the next wave.

The depression cloud of divorce during the holidays is unavoidable and different for every person. There is nothing that you can tell someone that will suddenly lift the depression cloud. Some will not recognize they are in the cloud until it is too late. Others will see it for what it is and still others may keep the cloud around for a very long time, because that is what they are comfortable with. Change is difficult in either direction. Feigned optimism during depression is also an option – DON’T DO THIS – YOU’LL MISS THE POINT OF YOUR PAIN. Coping during the holidays is something that people will say to gloss over the grave situation that is faced by split, separated or divorced people during a time that should be filled with happy memories. Do not cope. Face the pain and endure. Recognize the cloud of divorce, so it doesn’t consume you. Persevere. Take one day at a time. Breathe. Life is a vapor and the divorce cloud is not forever, be ready for the next wave. The holidays are almost over.

I have two children and I’m facing this Wild West court system alone. If you read or get ideas from my original content please donate any amount on PayPal and send money to info@fyidivorce.com.

Thanks for supporting an unbiased divorce opinion blog at FYIDivorce.com

Divorce Agony – The Wild Horse

If your divorce has lasted longer than a year, you will eventually stumble upon divorce agony. There are so many emotions that are wrapped up in divorce. I have described them as an emotional jungle and the 5 stages of grief, but once your divorce hits the long-term divorce mark such as over a year you will eventually reach divorce agony. When you have been in a period of prolonged pain that twists your insides into new shapes, this feeling is agony. The pain is intensified if the estranged spouse is an abuser (neglectful, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, etc.).

Divorce agony is like a wild horse confined to a cage and looking out to see a beautiful green pasture beyond its reach; the longing to be free is a desire that goes unsatisfied. Confinement creates a sense of claustrophobia. Things are cramped. Space is closing in. Turning around and around, but there is nowhere to go, but to stand in the same place looking out from the same viewpoint. Sweet scents come in on the breeze which provide some minor relief; however, no real resolution to the situation. There are moments when freedom seems obtainable; maybe someone from the outside looking in gives a glimmer of hope, however the moments are short lived and quenched quickly with reality.

Divorce with children is that reality in a contested divorce. Divorce with children are those steel bars that do not seem to go away. Children themselves do not create the steel bars that pin in the wild horse that longs to be free, the courts do. The divorce industry calls these steel bars coparenting. These steel bars are the constant reminder of the divorce state of your life. The issues that caused the divorce in the first place are still active and relived through coparenting and regular interaction with the person that caged you in the first place which creates agony. Coparenting itself is not the problem; however, the system does not customize coparenting according to relationship challenges. Happy coparenting cannot and will not exist in a contested divorce, do not be fooled. Also, it is common for a divorce to morph from an amicable divorce to a contested divorce very quickly when emotions run hot, be very careful there is no way to predict the outcome or plan for this switch.

Everyone will respond to divorce agony in their own way. If you are susceptible to substance abuse, stay clear of any situation that will expose you or tempt you. Do not let divorce agony impact your relationship with your child or children. If you can afford counseling consider it and schedule it. If you cannot afford counseling find an outlet, so that you are not facing this dreadful emotion alone. By joining a divorce group, talking with friends, starting a new hobby, writing or journaling you can better cope with divorce agony and tame the wild horse.

I have two children and I’m facing this Wild West court system alone. If you read or get ideas from my original content please donate any amount on PayPal and send money to info@fyidivorce.com.

Thanks for supporting an unbiased divorce opinion blog at FYIDivorce.com

Family Law – The Desert for Raw Emotions

If you’re considering divorce, please reconsider. Make your spouse a priority, work on your marriage and above all avoid the Family Law desert, especially if there is no abuse in your marriage.

The best deterrent to ending your marriage is the Family Law system. Family Law itself is the greatest punishment inflicted on married couples in their lifetime. Of course, married couples don’t realize the doom that awaits until they decide to divorce. The person looking for the divorce wants to immediately end whatever disruption that is in the marriage by severing the relationship with the other person; however, this feeling to separate to end the pain of the relationship does not justify the divorce, but demonstrates that person’s inability to cope, adapt, change and most of all forgive and bounce back. In cases of abuse it is much different. Often the one being abused doesn’t divorce, because they are controlled by their abuser or they think it is against their religion. The brave punching bags (people that are at the mercy of their spouse’s fists or flying objects, verbally abusive words, psychological games and abuse, neglect or isolation or withholding stimulation such as conversation for extended periods of time), these people are extremely tough victims that have the courage to file for divorce.

Abusers rarely file for divorce because they like controlling their victims and divorcing defeats their sick passion for control or domination. If they divorce there is no one left to control, belittle and put down to make themselves feel better (abusers have low self-esteem). In some cases, the victim can convince their abuser to divorce them if their abuser is extremely concerned with public perception or the abuser is hiding something they do not want public. The abuser will sometimes file to have perceived control over the outcome of divorce thus giving them the upper hand or saving their reputation. Many states have adopted no-fault divorce to keep the situation surrounding the divorce quiet; however, if you’re married to an abuser they will be sure to use their abusing tactics whether or not the state is no-fault, so be forewarned, abuse does not go away in a divorce or during the separation process it just takes on a different form. Liberal states do not care about abuse in a divorce case unless there are criminal cases attached and the abuser has a criminal record.

The Family Law system is incredibly broken. Some states like Mississippi still do not have no-fault in their divorce proceedings; however, recently they passed a Domestic Abuse Reform bill according to The Clarion Ledger – Part of the USA Today Network. However, even this amendment doesn’t account for numerous kinds of abuse that occur in families (neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, etc.). Additionally, what if there is ongoing abuse of the children within the relationship by one spouse? In liberal states, the courts do not care unless it is so bad there is a criminal case and conviction. Best interest of the child doctrine is only used loosely in liberal states and IS NOT LAW. Because best interest of the child is not law, judges are not required to follow it. Absurd, right? Child Protective Services or Child Welfare Services or all the other state variations that name the agency that steps in to supposedly prevent child abuse (every state and even county have a different child abuse prevention agency), will only get involved if the situation is bad enough to remove the children from both parents. The general consensus is, “keep the children in the home, because the foster care system makes things even worse.”

Men, if your wife is deranged and you can see your children have been neglected; however, your wife has no criminal background you will not get sole custody of the children. Women, if your husband is abusing you and the children and there is no criminal documentation of the incidents you will not get sole custody of the children. Men and Women who have zero abuse in your relationship, please DO NOT go to court and claim there is abuse. One of the main reasons men and women in abusive relationships are not protected by the system, because people are notorious for lying and duping the system to one-up their spouses. DO NOT be these people, you are hurting others indirectly and you are hurting your children if you have children. Divorce elicits a number of jungle emotions that are unhealthy for a family which is another reason why divorce should be your last resort if there’s no abuse.

If you’re considering divorce, please reconsider. Make your spouse a priority, work on your marriage and above all avoid the Family Law desert, especially if there is no abuse in your marriage. If you are in an abusive relationship, get out. There are many resources online that can help you define whether you are in an abusive relationship; Family Services is one of many. Some abuse can be mended with counseling; however, unless the abuser truly finds God or there’s an act of God that makes the abuser change, like they get struck by lightning or have a near death experience the likelihood of change on their own will either be a trap (manipulation) or behavior modification that will only last for a season.

I have two children and I’m facing this Wild West court system alone. If you read or get ideas from my original content please donate any amount on PayPal and send money to info@fyidivorce.com.

Thanks for supporting an unbiased divorce opinion blog at FYIDivorce.com

5 Stages of Grief in Divorce – here’s the clincher, they’re still living

There is no way to grasp the concept of divorce until your entire person is submerged and it does in fact feel like DEATH within an emotional jungle; however, every hiccup in the process feels like they are continually dying. This constant dying situation creates a sense of alternate reality. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for anyone involved which leads to difficulty moving from one stage of grief to another with bouts of despair in between (length of time in one stage varies by individual); and for others, there was so much turmoil in the relationship under one roof, the separation leads to immediate acceptance due to the stark contrast in daily living. However, the acceptance people are not out of the woods; they end up experiencing every stage of the grief sequence as time goes on in a different order. Let’s jump in and talk about the 5 Stages of Grief from losing a loved one from divorce.

First Stage – Denial

It doesn’t seem real at first. In some cases, it will never seem real; you feel like you are in a perpetual revolving door. Some questions that you’ll ask yourself include: is this happening? Tomorrow I am going to wake up and things will be different, right? He or she doesn’t really mean it. How can this be happening to me? It almost feels like an out of body experience or a bad dream.

Second Stage – Anger

No matter what side you are on. Whether you are filing for a divorce (petitioner) or responding to a divorce (respondent). This is true for both sides. Inside you feel like you are going to boil over or explode from the other person’s actions and words. No matter what don’t be THAT person. Take steps to prevent that from happening. Find an outlet for your anger. Sometimes it helps to scream at the top of your lungs when no one is around or put ten times the effort into your workout that day, when your lifting weights or when your jabbing and upper-cutting put all your energy into the action. Anger stems from being out of control, could also originate from betrayal and/or the natural response to the instigating spouse. The Family law system also triggers anger, because it is so incredibly broken and no one seems to care.

Third Stage – Depression

No one is immune to this stage. There are so many reasons why this stage is unavoidable. Your life as you know it gets turned upside down. If you have children, they are extra irritable from the divorce and it is difficult to identify whether their behavior is from abuse or the instant transition which makes you even more depressed. Your eyes glaze over. You can’t sleep. You sleep too much. You can’t eat, because you have no appetite or you overeat to increase the feel-good hormones like serotonin. Your limbs at times feel like they each weigh a ton. You don’t want to experience anything good, but instead want to wallow in your misery. The sudden departure of your loved one leaves a void of presence, even if that presence was rarely good most of the time. Holidays and birthdays are especially challenging at first, because your family and friends also must make the adjustment. No one really wants to talk about the divorce, but it is looming in the background of everything you do which also contributes to the grey cloud that seems to hang over your head.

Fourth Stage – Bargaining

Someone in some relationships always wants the other one back (that’s not the case in my experience). Spouses will make threats, they will beg, they will plead with you to change in the hope of getting back together. I think of this stage as the optimist stage, because whoever goes through this stage wants things the way they used to be and will say or do anything to get the other spouse to comply or bend to accommodate their need to be together again. They want to sacrifice something for the good of the relationship and are willing to put everything on the line at this point to make it happen. If you’ve responded to a bargaining spouse, let me know what that is like in the comments.

Fifth Stage – Acceptance

You finally feel relief in this stage and a hint of sadness. Some people may even feel a level of happiness and wholeness or resolve at this point. You no longer feel like your spouse is controlling you and you are confident that you will no longer be manipulated by your spouse, because as time progressed you became stronger and resistant to their old ways. At this stage, you come to terms with your divorce and know that the divorce happened for a reason. You no longer want your spouse to be yours. You no longer feel the need to continue arguments. You no longer let your estranged spouse impact your state of mind. At this point you are ready to begin life again, and holy cow, it feels amazing.

The most difficult part of the 5 Stages of Grief (denial, anger, depression, bargaining & acceptance) is reaching continuous acceptance, because the other person is still alive and well. If you’re able to move or minimize encounters, this helps; however, if you have children it is almost impossible. If the person changes and becomes civil and respectful there’s lots of promise that acceptance will be maintained. Sometimes you hear of stories where the parents have this jaw dropping co-parenting arrangement that they even take annual pictures together like the CBS News story or live together; these people aren’t human, do not believe the hype. In fact, the alternate reality scenario is even more relevant in divorce situations where the parents somehow stay active in each other’s lives and can’t seem to move on with their life. Don’t be that parent, you’re not helping the children, but giving them false hope. The emotional jungle is intense as you keep reliving the 5 Stages of Grief; this is normal, keep working through it each day is a new day.

I have two children and I’m facing this Wild West court system alone. If you read or get ideas from my original content please donate any amount on PayPal and send money to info@fyidivorce.com.

Thanks for supporting an unbiased divorce opinion blog at FYIDivorce.com