Divorce Trauma: PTSD

Drama. Drama. Drama. Let’s be real; there’s a lot of drama during divorce. Tears, anger, pettiness, and grudges are part of any typical divorce process. Those who manage their pain in a mature manner are not exactly in the majority -- just do some scrolling on Facebook, amiright? But there are those who endure stressor after stressor during the process and try desperately to manage, only to have the suffering manifest in something that is increasingly being identified as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

This disorder goes beyond the expected depression, which is bad enough. PTSD is associated more with those who have experienced war and all its violence. Love is a battlefield, though, and the bombs dropped on the heart are the most scarring emotionally. Divorces surrounded by abuse, shock, and trauma can cause exactly the same symptoms as those exposed to the stress of the wartime experience.

Identifying if you are caught in the middle of the disorder is the beginning of working towards healing. If you have physiological reactions (shaking uncontrollably, symptoms of panic); flashbacks of the incident; nightmares associated with the marriage or the divorce; inability to eat and sleep; avoiding anything to do with the incident, these are all associated with PTSD and you should seek therapy.

Talking with an expert about the shock, the abuse, the feelings, will often be accompanied by some medicines to help with symptoms. Many survivors of this disorder also tout the benefits of yoga and meditation combined with therapy and medication.

What you think, feel, and experience during and after your divorce is incredibly important. Do not feel weak. We are here to help. Call us with questions. No, we aren’t therapists, but we can help point you in the right direction and ease certain aspects of the legal stress. Breathe. It’s about to get better.