How nice are you . . . to yourself?During divorce recovery, your inner critic can have a field day judging you and making you feel guilty or inadequate or worthless. This barrage of negative thoughts is having an impact on your optimism and belief in your ability to bounce back
I recently asked my social media audience to share some of the biggest challenges they’re having when it comes to divorce. Here’s a poignant response I received:“My biggest challenge has been understanding how my Ex can be so cold and uncaring after 28 years of marriage. Since our separation, he’s
Would you rather have a breakthrough or a setback? It’s all in how you’re looking at it. The good news: What’s going wrong is subject to interpretation. The bad news: Most of us default to negative interpretations of difficult and unchosen circumstances. But we don’t have to stick with our
“What’s a good way to stop feeling left out in a world of couples? I’m heading to a picnic in a little while, party of one. At least I am going, proud of myself for that!”One of the members of my wonderful Thriving After Divorce Facebook group posted this a few weeks
When looking back at life from a distance, we get a perspective we didn’t have while in the thick of things. Imagine that you could bend time and sit down to tea with yourself at age 99. What would your elder self, who already knows how it all turned out, say
A friend recently asked, “How can I be more confident?” The answer is to act “as if” you’re already a confident person. This results in more actual confidence. This can work with any quality you want to cultivate . . . happiness, kindness, productivity, acceptance, etc. Ask yourself, “What does
This is a question I get frequently, and it’s understandable. When you’ve been married most or all of your adult life, the question of how long it’s going to take to get over it is top of mind. After being married for years, it’s natural to strongly identify yourself in
Dear Deb:I thought I’d married a great guy and that we had a good marriage. Then I found out he had an affair for the last five years of our 22-year marriage. The divorce is bad enough, but I’ve lost all faith in humanity. How will I ever be able
Some people naturally enjoy being alone. Others, not so much. In either case, being alone after the ending of your marriage has a different, more lonely quality to it that’s part of the normal sadness that comes with divorce. As your recovery progresses, cultivating a love for your own company
Your Divorce Recovery Type determines how fast and how thoroughly you’ll recover, heal and thrive after divorce. Each type has a unique way of responding to the stresses and opportunities faced during divorce recovery. Once you’re aware of your type’s strengths and blind spots, you can take the right steps