Man in blue points at reader to remind them to stop blaming your ex and you'll start getting over your divorce.

Stop Blaming Your Ex And You’ll Start Getting Over Your Divorce

The longer you blame them, the more you’re hurting yourself.

There are tons of reasons why people blame their ex for their divorce. Among the more common reasons are giving up, unwilling to work on saving the marriage, too argumentative, and unrealistic expectations.

And these are wholly justifiable reasons for feeling angry and hurt about your ex taking your dreams of celebrating your 50th anniversary together and grinding them to dust without an ounce of remorse.

However, if you continue to focus on blaming your ex you’re only hurting yourself (and your kids).

Getting over divorce requires a lot of things including that you get over blaming your ex.

By continuing to blame your ex for the end of your marriage, you’re making your divorce more contentious. The increased friction has three main effects. First, all the arguing makes coming to a settlement take a whole lot longer. Second, you’ll wind up paying more for your divorce. Finally, getting over divorce is pretty difficult if your divorce is still going on.

All the blame you’re heaping on your ex-spouse for breaking up your family negatively impacts your kids. Sure, breaking the family up in the first place hurts your children, but by continuing to find fault with their other parent isn’t making things any better.

In fact, it’s keeping you from figuring out how to co-parent well. And the longer it takes the two of you to figure out the whole co-parenting thing the more damage you’re both doing to your kids.

It takes a lot of energy to continue blaming your ex for shattering your dreams of happily ever after. You could say that it’s providing you the fuel to get through the divorce. But that wouldn’t be true.

The truth is that the longer you continue placing all the blame for the end of your marriage squarely on their shoulders, the longer you’re allowing them to hold you as an emotional hostage. You’re abdicating responsibility for yourself and making it impossible to get over your divorce.

In order to get over your divorce you have to do x things. You have to accept what’s happened and that your marriage has ended. You have to acknowledge the torrent of emotions you’re experiencing. And you have to take responsibility for you and work on getting over your divorce.

No one can do any of this for you – no matter how much you blame them; the blame will never make you feel better or allow you to create a new chapter of your life.

The longer you choose to focus on the blame the more you’re focusing on the past and it’s damn hard to move forward when you’re looking backward. You have to focus on what you can do to move yourself forward (as scary as that is).

And that’s the secret of getting over divorce: focus on what you can do now to truly change your situation for the better regardless of what your ex did or didn’t do.

I’m Dr. Karen Finn, a divorce coach and advisor helping people just like you who are struggling with getting over divorce. You can join my newsletter list for free weekly advice. And if you’re interested in taking the first step toward working with me, you can schedule an introductory private coaching session. 

Looking for more support and ideas for getting over divorce? You’ll find what you’re looking for in Dealing With Grief.

 

Dr. Karen Finn

Related Posts:

Sad woman sitting with her head in her hands wondering how to heal divorce heartbreak so you can move on with life.

How To Heal Divorce Heartbreak So You Can Move On With Your Life

By Dr. Karen Finn | June 23, 2018

The only way to figure out how to heal from divorce heartbreak is to work through the pain. These 13 steps will help you find your way to feeling happy again.

Read More
A sad man with his head hanging between his legs as he tries to figure out How To Get Through Grief After A Divorce

How To Get Through Grief After A Divorce

By Dr. Karen Finn | April 10, 2018

Dealing with grief after a divorce is incredibly difficult and scary. There will be times when you simply don’t recognize yourself. However, once you know what to expect, put the necessary support in place, and then allow yourself to fully grieve, you’ll not only heal your broken heart, but rediscover the truth of who you truly are.

Read More
Silhouette of 3 friends, hiking up a rise toward a sunset/rise. 5 Things you HAVE to do to FINALLY get over your breakup.

The 5 Things You HAVE To Do To FINALLY Get Over Your Break Up

By Dr. Karen Finn | March 20, 2017

FacebookTweetPin Because it takes more than booze and ice cream to truly heal. It doesn’t matter if this is the first time or the hundredth time – break ups suck. Logically, you know you’d never want a relationship with someone who doesn’t want you. But logic isn’t where you go when you get the news…

Read More