A traumatizing divorce: how to cope

It is no secret that divorce can be painful and emotionally draining. While some divorces in Las Vegas are fairly harmonious, others are outright nasty. It’s these types of divorces that can leave a person feeling traumatized.

No matter if a person expects their divorce to be a war or is unexpectedly surprised by their ex-spouse’s hostile behavior, it is important to have a legal representative that works to protect your best interests. Because divorce is a highly legal process, it is that much more important that volatile emotions don’t muddy the waters.

In the end, there is only so much a person can do to keep emotions out of proceedings, but from the recent advice of a psychiatrist, there are steps that people can take in order to better cope with the stress of divorce. Better coping means a less likely chance that an individual will be triggered to react irrationally.

The psychiatrist recommends that people first come to terms with what is happening. He explains that in order to have a clear perspective, it is important to accept and recognize when a divorce is difficult or traumatizing. Equally as important is allowing yourself to grieve loss. It may be the loss of companionship, security or trust, among other things.

Finally, the psychiatrist recommends reaching out. An individual may highly benefit from psychotherapy, where they can talk about what happened in order to regain control of the trauma they experienced. Another outlet is finding a support group that centers on divorce. Being able to discuss what happened with other likeminded individuals may help a person keep things in perspective.

Source: Huffington Post, “The Traumatic Divorce: 6 Ways to Heal,” Mark Banschick, MD, Feb. 8, 2013