Taking care of our mental health can be difficult enough on its own. When you throw something as stressful as divorce into the mix, everything can feel very overwhelming. This Mental Health Week our team at ACLF have compiled these tips to help you manage your mental health when going through a divorce:
Table of Contents
- Have A Good Family Lawyer
- Consult With A Therapist
- Manage Your Wellbeing
- What To Avoid When Dealing With Divorce
- Final Thoughts
Have A Good Family Lawyer
While going through emotional turmoil like divorce, it can be challenging to give your family solicitor clear instructions.
However, our advice is to allow your family lawyer to help you extract the important information from you.
A good family lawyer will be able to know what questions to ask and give you relevant advice. Communication with your family law practitioner is key – you can share with your lawyer how you wish to communicate.
Emails don’t work for me because I prefer speaking with my clients and hearing their tone. Zoom meetings are convenient, but the client can also specify how they would like to communicate. Everyone is different, and it all depends on what is most convenient for them.
Get in touch to learn more about finding a family lawyer
Consult With A Therapist
If you are going through a really tough time and your mental health does not allow you to sleep because you keep thinking about it and you cannot give instructions, then it is time to invest in some self-help through a qualified psychotherapist.
Whilst you may think “more expense” in the long run this cuts down on costs as you may be able to focus more on the issues your family law practitioner wants you to give instructions on.
Psychotherapy sessions can be tough but they can also be fun and you may discover a whole new lease of life further, it is something that you do for yourself – celebrities do it all the time.
The NHS is a good place to find a qualified therapist to help you.
Effects of Divorce on Wellbeing
Without a doubt, any change in life is challenging and going through a divorce, settling finances and making agreements when the children can see the non-resident parent can put a lot of pressure on the parties.
You will need a good support network of family and/or friends. This will help your health as well of course as looking after your wellbeing and ensuring you go for a walk/run or catch a virtual Yoga class.
What To Avoid When Dealing With Divorce
Things to stay away from during this difficult time is to avoid excessive alcohol drinking and dating apps as statistics seem to show, the grass is seldom greener on the other side and these behaviours have an impact on our mental health (in other words they are a quick fix – but will not help you in the long run).
Final Thoughts: Divorce, Mental Health and You
Being kind to yourself and stopping blaming yourself/others are the first steps to help you make the change to your new family circumstances.
Please contact Janette Johnston our Family Law Specialist – A City Law Firm – Janette@acitylawfirm.com
