A Case for Avoiding Your Emotions…Once in a While!

Are you overwhelmed dealing with the painful emotions of your divorce? Do you feel as if you are drowning in these emotions and just need a break from them for a while? You are not alone.

During my divorce, I remember sitting on the sofa and knitting a sweater that just kept getting longer and longer…and longer, because tracking those small stitches kept my mind occupied and calmed me. I remember staring at a really bad TV show, because it helped my mind go blank.

When you need time away from your emotions, you may choose to knit and watch bad TV, or to exercise, garden, paint, or organize a file cabinet, the downloads on your computer, your sock drawer, or anything else that works.

Accepting and healing from so many emotions may feel like trying to climb a mountain of grief. You want to reach the summit so you can see a new future, but this work can be exhausting. You may stumble or take the wrong path for a while and have to retrace your steps in order to move forward again. You may want to give up because it is just too hard.

Those who climb actual mountains also stumble and take a wrong path occasionally. They understand that’s part of the journey. They are well aware of how hard a climb can be, so they make certain to stop once in a while and sit, catch their breath, have an energy bar, and drink lots of water. They are not avoiding their journey but to continue up the mountain, they need to rest now and then. They encourage other climbers to take pride in every little step they accomplish and how important it is to have a community for support.

As you follow your path through divorce, please connect to a community of support that feels right for you and take pride in every step you take (even it is backwards!).

By taking time away from your emotions now and then, you have already created a space that allows you to stop and rest when you need to and gives you the opportunity to choose what things will nourish you, renew your spirit, and give you the strength to continue on you way to rediscovering yourself and your future.

Barb Greenberg, Author