Divorce and Stress

Stress has a major affect on divorcing women's health.... Vikki Ziegler, a top divorce attorney and TV personality knows all too well the debilitating affects a divorce can cause - as she has been representing hundreds of people and has too gone through her own marital strife in the past. Stress reeks havoc on your body and mind and people don’t have enough information about where to turn to get some relief. They are focused on the court room battle, their kids and finances but all too often they forget about self care which is one of the most important things a divorce can do to withstand the divorce storm and stay strong emotionally and physically for themselves and their loved ones. Stress incurred through divorce negatively affects most every adult who goes through the experience, but the affects will differ substantially from person to person. The fact that marital dissolution is a crisis and a profoundly stressful life event for many people is well documented in psychiatry, mental health, clinical psychology and psychosomatic medicine. This “divorce-induced stress weakens the immune system, creating a greater vulnerability to infection and disease” (Hetherington & Kelly, 2002, p. 59). The newly divorced have more physical and psychological problems, which usually peak in the early post-divorce years and then diminish (ibid). An acute sense of failure, often found in the newly divorced can lead to depression and even suicide. In comparison to married people, the divorced exhibit higher rates of depression, suicide, alcohol abuse and mental health treatment (Sweeney & Horwitz, 2001). One study reported significantly higher rates of depression for women reporting a separation/ divorce event than women reporting an act of physical aggression (Christian-Herman, O’Leary, & Avery-Leaf, 2001) That’s why we have come up with stress busters that will help people cope during and after a divorce to ease the pain and keep their mind off of their troubles: Try using these stress reducing methods: 1. Acupuncture 2. Hot Yoga 3. Foot massage- 3 Mediation 4. Massage- 4 hand massage/hot baths/salts 5. Deep breathing techniques 6. Positive affirmations 7. Self health books/tapes 8. kickboxing- getting out aggression in a positive fashion