Going through a divorce can impact your entire life — including your personal health. The longer, more bitter the divorce battle is, often the more impact it can have on short-term health. Those short-term changes can have long-term consequences, though, which is one reason you might want to consider divorce mediation in Florida.
One of the physical changes often associated with divorce is a drastic change in weight. Sometimes, the change is healthy in nature as people begin taking better care of themselves because they aren’t dealing constantly with a relationship that isn’t working. Other times, these changes are not healthy. You might stress eat, which can lead to weight gain, or fail to eat because of stress, which leads to nutritional issues.
Another physical issue related to divorce is anxiety. While typically considered something in the mental realm, anxiety can lead to a range of physical symptoms including problems sleeping, digestive issues and stress on the heart. It can also prompt you to act in ways that prolong the issues of divorce. Everyone reacts to anxiety in different ways, but some people compensate by seeking control in everything, which can cause problems in divorce negotiations.
Depression is another mental ailment that might temporarily cloud your judgment and ability to act during and just after a divorce. As with anxiety, depression also has physical symptoms that can impact your ability to maintain relationships with children and other family members or remain productive at work.
While you shouldn’t rush through a divorce process simply to avoid these issues, you should know that they might come up. If it’s not possible to work through a legal representative on a collaborative divorce, seek good representation for yourself and consider reaching out to other professionals for help with your mental and physical well-being at this time.
Source: Prevention, “8 Surprising Ways Divorce Affects Your Health,” Jane Bianchi, accessed Sep. 30, 2016
