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Keep Positive During Divorce: Finding Joy

Posted on by Robert J. Reeves

Divorce tends to shake up a person’s life in many different ways. As a result, it can be hard to keep positive during divorce. However, practicing a few key things can help you keep a positive mindset…

Keep Positive During Divorce: Steps To Take

Embrace some stability

It can be easy to feel like things are slipping out of your control when divorcing. When everything seems to be changing, you’ll want to embrace the things which remain stable. Doing so is important if you want to keep positive during divorce.

For instance, if you’ll be keeping the home, you don’t need to make a ton of changes all at once. Even if you need to move, you can find somewhere close rather than move far away. Plus, remember that you don’t need to jump into new commitments like dating until you feel ready. Instead, try to take this time reorganize and begin adjusting to what life will be like post-divorce.

Accept help from others

If you want to keep positive during divorce, then you should accept some outside help. Those around you who care about you will want to try and do what they can to give you a hand. It can be hard to accept their help, as you may feel like some kind of “burden.” In reality, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Your friends and family care about you, and just like you’d help them when they need it, they want to help you now. Don’t be afraid to lean on them for extra help, especially when you need someone to talk to. If they invite you out to social events, try and make an effort to go even if it feels hard. You’ll be surprised at how much better you’ll feel when you spend your time with them!

Practice some self-improvement

A great way to keep positive during divorce is by focusing on some self-improvement. Making helpful changes can be a great way to balance out those “negative” ones you may be experiencing. In general, most people like to focus on their health, both physically and mentally.

Plenty of research has shown that exercising helps improve our moods and clear our minds. It’s also a great way to get out of the house and potentially meet new people. This makes it great to do along with mental health improvements, as they’ll both tie into one another.

Co-Parenting Pettiness: Setting Differences Aside

Posted on by Robert J. Reeves

Having a good co-parenting plan is important for sharing custody after your divorce. However, co-parenting pettiness can easily undermine your plans. Identifying and correcting this sort of behavior is important for making your co-parenting experience go smoothly…

Co-Parenting Pettiness: Common Behavior

Procrastination

Procrastinating isn’t just a bad habit to have. It can also be a sign of post-divorce pettiness. For instance, maybe your ex has had something come up, and asks if you can watch the kids for them. Instead of getting back as soon as you can, you instead wait until the last minute to reply.

This is not only frustrating for your ex, but also sets a bad example for your kids. Plus, it also can lead to your ex doing the same in return. Rather, you should do your best to prioritize matters related to your co-parenting agreement.

“Can’t” vs. “Won’t”

Any good co-parenting agreement is going to include some compromises. Still, sometimes that can be hard to accept. There may be times where you don’t want to compromise, but also don’t want to come out and say that you’ll refuse to do something.

Rather, you might tell your ex that you “can’t” do what they’re asking, rather than saying you “won’t.” This is not only unfair to them, but over time, they’ll catch on to how you somehow always have an excuse ready to go. Instead of trying to ignore these conversations, be willing to talk to your ex about the compromise you make and find one which works for you both.

Silent treatment

The silent treatment is a pretty extreme kind of co-parenting pettiness. It’s understandable that you and your ex may not want to talk all that much after your divorce. Nevertheless, you’ll still need to keep some form of communication open due to your custody arrangement. Choosing not to talk at all though is just going to cause problems.

During those times you have to talk to one another, try to keep the conversation brief and to-the-point. Avoid getting sidetracked or trying to pry into their personal life. If in-person conversations don’t work, it may help to keep things strictly over-the-phone or through email.

Post-Divorce Anxiety: Maintaining Mental Health

Posted on by Robert J. Reeves

Taking care of your mental health is quite important after your divorce. However, many people tend to experience a lot of post-divorce anxiety. This tends to be because of all the changes going on. Seeing what causes this anxiety can help you know ways you can get it under control…

Post-Divorce Anxiety: Emotional Impact of Divorce

Moving

One common reason for post-divorce anxiety is when someone needs to move. The combination of both leaving your spouse, and the place you’ve called home, can be hard to handle. Having to go do things solo in a place that’s new to you can be tough, and leave you full of anxiety.

Still, keep in mind that you got a divorce for a reason. It’s easy to create an idealized version of living with your spouse that didn’t match the reality. Think about all the things they did that frustrated you, and now take comfort in the fact that you can start living on your own terms.

Making new friends

Your social life can also be a cause of post-divorce anxiety. People are social creatures by nature. Even if you’re more introverted, you’ll still like doing things with friends every now and again. With your divorce, you might now find a lot of friends you and your ex had may not stick around like they used to.

While you may still have close friends and family, it’s still always good to try and make new ones. This can seem daunting, but keep in mind you’ve been making friends all throughout your life. Consider going to some kind of social event or a picking up a hobby. These can both be great ways to find like-minded people who you can become friends with.

Extra costs

Your former budget is probably going to need some adjustment after your divorce. It tends to be cheaper and easier to budget when you’re married. Now, you’ll be going back to a single source of income. Add in any extra costs which could’ve came from the divorce, and it can easily get your post-divorce anxiety racing.

Remember that there’s been times before when you’ve had to crunch your budget. You made it through those times, so you can make it through these ones as well. Take some time to really look over your income and expenses, and work out a way to make some savings. Doing so can really help put your mind at ease.

Dating Online: Keep Your Eyes Open

Posted on by Robert J. Reeves

When you try to date again after your divorce, you may be interested in some online options. However, while dating online can be convenient, it can also have people looking to scam you. Therefore, it’s important to know how you can protect yourself accordingly…

Dating Online: Avoid Scammers

Check their profile

A good thing to do when online dating is checking a person’s profile. Many people get matches and just assume they must have something in common. As a result, they don’t pay attention to what a person’s profile has. By not doing this, they could be setting themselves up for a scam.

Many scammers will either have very simple profiles, or ones full of spelling errors and mistakes. In fact, they may even use fake pictures to try and trick you. It’s good to try and do a Google reverse image search on their profile pictures. That way, you can see if they’re legit, or pretending to be someone else.

Watch for red flag phrases

Scammers who try and target those dating online tend to also use similar playbooks. Usually, they’ll try and get you to either give them personal information or money. For example, they may say that they’re having a hard time financially and need some money if they were to go and see you. Or, they’ll try and ask very specific questions, usually to try and hack into your accounts.

Some scammers may also try and use blackmail. They’ll ask you to send compromising videos or pictures, and then threaten to send them to people you know unless you give them money. That’s why you need to be careful about what you share with these strangers.

Be careful of links

A new scamming method to be aware of when dating online are phishing links. These are links which someone will send to you in order to try and steal your information. For example, they may send a link which seems to be for their Facebook. In reality, it sends you to a site which either locks your computer, installs a virus, or tries to steal your personal info.

It’s best to avoid clicking any links a person sends, especially if it’s the first thing they send you. You should also make sure you have some kind of anti-virus protection. These programs can detect scam links, and help you avoid clicking on them.

Quarantine With Your Ex: Strained Social Distancing

Posted on by Robert J. Reeves

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many people to put their divorce plans on hold. However, you might have just made the mark. But, now you’re finding that your moving plans and custody plan has been put on hold and you’re left to quarantine with your ex. While this isn’t ideal, it is something you have to make work for the time being. So, we’re here to help..

Quarantine With Your Ex: Make It Work

Understand the situation

To handle quarantine with your ex, it helps to first understand the situation you’re both in. You and they won’t be able to just “go away”, especially after a fight or argument. Therefore, you have to consider what you’re going to do: will you constantly fight with one another, or try and make things work out?

Choosing the former will make the quarantine experience miserable for the both of you. Spending every day at each other’s throats isn’t good for your mental well-being. Instead, you should try and reach some neutral ground. By agreeing on this, you can make matters a lot easier.

Set aside personal space

Experiencing quarantine with your ex means you’ll be stuck inside the home all day. Depending on the house you have, that probably doesn’t leave a lot of space. Constantly being around them can be hard, especially if the divorce was a rough experience. That’s why it’s good to set aside some personal private areas.

This should be a room where you can go and not be disturbed by your ex. It could be your old bedroom, or an extra room you can make into a temporary bedroom. Having this personal space can help you breathe and relax, even if you have to share the rest of the house with your ex.

Keep yourself busy

Quarantine is leaving a lot of people with more free time than usual. Not having anything to do could inadvertently cause you and your ex to start arguing over small, non-important things. Having something to keep you busy can make quarantine with your ex a more tolerable experience.

Even if you can’t really go out, there’s still plenty of hobbies you can try out. Some popular ones have been reading, catching up on movies, or getting into gardening. Plus, you can still stay in touch with friends and family through digital means. That way, you don’t feel totally alone and “trapped” with your ex

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