10 THINGS TO GET YOUR MIND OFF DIVORCE.
No matter how easy a divorce may be, it always is mentally distracting, creating a hole in your life that you need to fill. Getting you mind off your of it helps you find new groves in life. For some this is easy, while for others their mental anguish drives them to a point where they can barely function. Regardless of your distraction level, everyone can use a few suggestions of ways to get back in the swing of a normal life.
- Start getting up early and enjoy the morning. Make time to read the paper, watch the sun rise, have breakfast, or slowly enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. Do not rush into the day, but slowly work your way into it. Even if you are having trouble getting out bed, make yourself do it for a week. After that, its easy.
- Joint a support group of others going through divorce. They are available through churches, community centers, and professional therapists. If the first one doesn’t feel right, try another. The group is only as good as the personalities in it.
- Lean something new for yourself. SCUBA, Yoga, swimming, crafts, or anything else new will open up fresh pathways in your brain and stimulate new thought processess about everything in your life.
- Join a gym or local fitness center ………. And GO GO GO – at least 3 days a week. Nothing will make you feel better than a little exercise.
- Get a massage, or two, or three. Treating yourself to something so simple and good can release more stress than any other activity. Places like Massage Envy have brought the cost of a massage into almost everyone’s budget.
- Plan a short vacation to or with friends who have a positive attitude about life. Their enthusiasm for life can be intoxicating. It does not have to be expensive or in an exotic location. But it should be somewhere different or new – NOT where you went with your spouse.
- Take a daily walk after work. You may have to push yourself to make this happen. But once you are out there, it is always worth it. So, put on your headphones, fill a water bottle, throw $10 in your pocket and head out, every day. Use it for “me time” to work through the stress of the day. After a few weeks, if you are up to it, start adding in 30 second jogs, followed by 60 second walks.
- Go to the library or book store and browse. Then grab 2 or 3 titles that just look enjoyable (no self help books), go home, and read the first three chapters of each one. This should launch you into new worlds of imagination that can act as a stimulas to your new happy thoughts about life.
- Make contact with old friends and relatives you have not talked to in years. Either by letter, email, or phone, they will be happy to hear from you. Reconnection with family and friends is a critical element of the divorce recovery process.
- Limit your television time and substitute it with exercise, evening walks, reading, prayer, meditation, or seeing friends. Television should be your last resort to fill your time.
There is light on the other side of divorce. You just have to find your way to it. These tips will get you on that path.