It’s natural to want to roll up in a ball and hide when we are dealing with a crisis like divorce. Life is overwhelming. However, staying detached from life after the initial shock has passed is not good. To move beyond the grief and the pain, it is necessary to move outside our comfort zone. Here is another in a series of tips on how to deal with the challenges of divorce.


Push yourself: If you have ever been through physical therapy, you know that the therapist’s main job is to push you beyond what you think are your limits. You heal faster that way. Well, the same is true when healing spiritually and emotionally. If you confine yourself to living in your comfort zone, you rob yourself of the opportunity to heal. What does pushing yourself look like? It means availing yourself of the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation more often (when was the last time you went to confession, anyway?). It means participating in your parish’s divorce support group. It means going out with friends on a Friday or Saturday night instead of sitting at home watching reruns. (My brother was really good about pushing me to go out with him and his friends on the nights I didn’t have my kids.) In short, it means living today to the fullest, even if you don’t necessarily feel like it. Remember, feeling follows action.

Originally posted 2010-01-18 11:48:00.