How To Heal After A Painful Divorce
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“Divorce is like the death of a chapter in your life,” says parenting coach Aria Craig. Sit with that for a moment. The other areas of one’s life – the other chapters – it feels are always with a person. Old boyfriends or girlfriends. College. That internship with the mean boss. They were painful, but they were also integral parts of the whole story. Ultimately, once a person is healed, that failed marriage will also feel like a necessary and integral part of their life story. But at first, it can feel, as Craig put it, like something died. There’s such finality to it. Where does it fit into everything? What do you do with all of the pain that it’s left you with? Most other experiences that are difficult can be reframed as learning experiences. But divorce can, at first, feel like a pure failure, from which nothing good can be derived.
As the award-winning and best-selling Amazon author of the series “The Single Mother Diaries,” Craig was the ideal person to speak to about this concept. There is life after divorce, and it doesn’t have to be – nor should it be – something pushed under the rug and forgotten. Not only can one heal from the most painful divorce; one can come out stronger. Here is Craig’s expert advice on how to do just that.

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The pain ebbs and flows
Craig notes that you may have periods when you’re feeling fine, and think divorce isn’t affecting you, but then you’ll have a difficult moment. That’s common, and how it can go on for some time. She says “It normally takes an average of two years for a person to cycle through their emotions after a divorce.”
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Find a therapist
Craig encourages those going through a divorce to find a therapist. “Have a counselor help you sort through your feelings and create goals for yourself on how to move forward.” Craig’s own therapist had her set short-term goals for her healing process, and was able to help her identify other issues going on in her life, not even related to the divorce, but clouded by it.
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Your work may provide a therapist
Craig reminds those struggling to find a therapist they can afford that their employee assistance program through their job may offer free therapists. In addition to the one assigned to you, they may have a network of other therapists who are on call, 24/7, for those moments you’re having a particularly difficult time and need to speak to somebody right away. Craig also recommends journaling feelings and thoughts as a supplementary part of therapy.
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Have that 3 am friend
That friend who will pick up your call at 2 or 3 in the morning when you’re having an impossibly difficult time – find that friend, suggests Craig. Craig is that friend for many in her own life, noting there have been times that, just answering that call made a huge difference in a friend’s life – even the difference of them not doing something harmful. So find that friend who will take your 3 am call, and when you need to, call.
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Find those with a shared experience
Craig informs that there are many groups out there – from online to physical meet-up groups – designed for those who have been through very specific shared experiences. Craig herself was married to a narcissist, and she said it was particularly helpful for her to speak to a friend who had also divorced a narcissist. It’s not just talking to another divorcee – but someone with your more unique shared experience. “That’s a shoulder to lean on,” says Craig.
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Take a break from those who don’t understand
It’s important to prioritize your self-healing right now, and perhaps take space from those who won’t or can’t prioritize that. Craig specifically recommends disconnecting from people who don’t understand your situation. From personal experience, when going through her divorce, Craig found it was hard to spend time with one friend who didn’t understand what a narcissist was, and didn’t realize the severity of the situation.
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Avoid negative people
This is probably good advice for any time of life, and for any person – divorce or no divorce. But it is especially important that those in the fragile state of divorce disconnect from negative people. “Realize which people are not supporting you through your journey and disconnect. And lean on those who are supportive,” advises Craig.
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What about dating after divorce?
While those in the throes of a divorce may feel they can never date again, there is a way forward, but it’s no fast track. “What I suggest that people do, but more so women than anyone, once they are divorced, is take the time for themselves to assess themselves…understand your strengths and your weaknesses. Learn from what happened in your marriage,” says Craig.
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Not everything is your fault
“A lot of the time us women blame ourselves. We try to figure out what we did wrong,” says Craig. There is some value in that, but it has its limits, like when trying to determine how one could have made the ex behave differently. “We aren’t talking about his part. Your ex. There’s nothing you can do about them and how they responded to anything,” says Craig. “It’s about learning what you can do better. Both how you respond to things, and the types of people you attract.”
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Some things are on you, and that’s okay
While Craig discourages women going through divorce to fixate on how they could have made an ex respond differently, she encourages understanding one’s own shortcomings. “There are times you have to take accountability for certain decisions that you made. That is only going to allow you to be strengthened in an area…You see ‘there was a weakness here and this is the consequence that came with it.’”
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Don’t let loneliness rush you
Loneliness is quite powerful and can drive one to do rash and possibly unhealthy things, like rushing into a new relationship soon after divorce. But Craig says, “Know there is a difference between being alone and being lonely. When you’re alone, you are processing, assessing, growing, and developing. You’re using those lessons [from the divorce]…”
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History might repeat itself
Even understanding the past and identifying ways to behave differently in the future, Craig does say that “When you’re ready to start dating again, you may attract the same type of person [as your ex]. But you will have the discernment to know certain things you’re not going to entertain…And at a certain time, you’ll stop attracting those people.”
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Be patient
The importance of taking that time to be alone, assess yourself, and grow, results in this benefit, according to Craig: “You know your value because you took that time after your divorce to learn about you, and to be strengthened in certain areas, so you can have a healthy relationship.” Craig divorced in 2018 and says she is still investing in herself, and not dating.
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Get outside your head
Whether it’s a friend, a therapist, or both, Craig urges those going through divorce to lean on that support system, because it’s important to get an outside perspective. “We beat ourselves up during a divorce, and we can’t see outside of ourselves. We’re in our heads too much. And that creates some emotional problems because we’re convincing ourselves we did something wrong…Talk to people outside who can say to you ‘We aren’t placing blame. We learned from that, now let’s move forward.’”
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A final word on letting go
“Allow yourself to feel emotions. They’re valid. Allow yourself to cry. Allow yourself to be angry. But after a certain point, the anger should turn into power,” says Craig, adding that eventually, one must say, “I need to be at peace. That’s healthy. I don’t need to harbor any anger.” Craig finished the interview with these encouraging words: “You still have the rest of your life to live. That’s just one chapter. Move onto the next one.”
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