Making the choice to end a divorce can bring about several different emotions and behaviors. Marriages do not typically break down overnight. Depending on whether you are the initiator of the divorce or the one receiving the news, it is likely that each person will feel different emotions at different stages of the process. Understanding the following emotional stages can help parties and reach their own level of personal healing.
- Disillusionment of One Party. At this stage, conflicts are real but often go unacknowledged. One party may begin to distance themselves and develop a plan for separation.
- Expressing Dissatisfaction. This stage brings expression of discontentment by one of the parties to the other. Sometimes parties will try marital counseling, and give the marriage “one last try.”
- Choosing to Separate. The initiator typically begins to create emotional distance while the receiver is beginning the first emotional stage of divorce and feels a sense of denial.
- Beginning the Legal Process. At this stage, the parties are likely to separate physically by finding an alternative living arrangement. This sometimes causes the separation to become public which ignites feelings of fear, shame or guilt.
- Developing Acceptance. The parties begin to accept the fact that a divorce is occurring. Each individual, on their own time, begins to regain a sense of self by recreating a plan for the future.
- Completing the Legal Process. This parties begin to fall into a routine of their new roles and responsibilities. They move past blame and anger and find a new beginning.
Fortunately, with the guidance of one of our highly skilled and experienced family law attorneys, you do not have to take this path alone. For any questions, please reach out to us at Simpson Legal Group, LLC in Council Bluffs, IA, at (712) 256-9899.