Want to know how to get over a divorce? I have some advice. When I was first getting divorced, I was beyond depressed. I was sad, I was scared, but mostly I was angry. ‘Why did this happen to me?’ and ‘It’s not fair’ were constantly going through my mind. I felt like somehow I was terribly wronged. By everyone. Occasionally, I found myself with a “Whoa is me… You should feel sorry for me” attitude. “I’m a single mom. Finances are tight…I’m alone…”
After some time went by, I started to realize something: focusing on being angry, bitter, sad, and wronged wasn’t helping anything. In fact, it was hurting me. That mindset was holding me back from getting over the divorce. What I realized was, I was acting like a victim.
The word victim means “somebody hurt or killed or harmed or duped.” So, according to that definition, is everyone who gets divorced a victim? The answer, in my opinion is yes, you are a victim. You are hurt, you’ve been harmed. You have been lied to or cheated on or treated badly or called names or dumped or ignored or humiliated or not respected.
Because you are a victim, I think it’s normal, healthy even, to grieve, feel angry, and feel sorry for yourself FOR A LITTLE WHILE. But if you truly want to know how to get over a divorce, there comes a time when playing the victim needs to stop. A time when you pick yourself up off the floor, dust yourself off and start your new life with a completely different mindset.
I’m not trying to make getting over a divorce sound simple or easy. It’s not. But, you have two choices:
One, play the victim and blame everyone else for the rest of your life, or two, go out and grab the life you want.
I recently got an email from a reader with three young children whose husband left her for another woman.
“I just put my house on the market and I can’t pay my bills,” she wrote. “I’m really scared. I hate that man so much, I wish he was dead! I can’t believe he did this to me. Because of him I haven’t worked in 10 years, and now I can’t find a job. No one wants to hire me. I hope he and his new wife burn in hell.”
I wrote the woman back, telling her I was really sorry about her situation. I then asked her what field she was in before she stopped working.
She wrote back, “I was a financial advisor and was really successful. I quit because the fucker wanted me to be a stay at home mom. I gave up everything for him.”
I wrote her back and said, “It must be very frustrating and I feel terrible for you. That said, let me help you. It sounds like you need a job. Tell me more specifically what you’d like to do, and I will connect you with some people in the industry. I have over 1000 Linkedin contacts and I can put out some feelers for you.”
Do you know what her response was? Not, “Thank you so much! I would like to get back into the industry….” Or “Let me get my resume together and I’ll be in touch.”
Instead, she wrote back, “Do you know he has over a million dollars in his savings account? He’s living in this huge house, enjoying a great life, and supporting the woman’s son, while I can’t even pay my mortgage!”
She never even acknowledged my offer. In other words, discussing going back to work and supporting herself wasn’t as important to her as continuing to express blame and her hatred for him. Clearly, she is still in victim mode.
The woman is clearly not ready to see how to get over a divorce by ceasing to playing the victim. I wish I could put a magic spell on her so she would say, “Okay, what happened to me is painful and awful and heartbreaking, and it wasn’t fair at all, but now it’s time to take action. I have three healthy children who love me, I’m a great person, I have the ability to be successful professionally, and if I have the guts to put myself out there, my opportunities are endless, both professionally and personally.”
I’m not saying that is easy, or that that happens a week after someone leaves you. But if you want to be happy, and you want to get over the divorce, it has to happen at some point.
This woman’s sole focus is on her ex-husband (who don’t get me wrong, I would love to punch in the face) but she’s all about wanting people to feel sorry for her and hate her ex-husband when she could be getting herself together and making plans for her future. She doesn’t realize that when she stops acting like a victim, doors will open up.
I want to add that I know how hard it is, not only to figure out a career that works with kids, but to get in the door of any company after not working for a long stretch of time. I have been there. Before I got my job, I had so many rejection emails I couldn’t even count them all. It’s hard, but you have to be persistent and strong and display perseverance. That’s just the way it is. It’s always been that way.
Here’s the scariest part about playing the victim:
People who don’t get out of that mindset end up miserable for the rest of their lives, and never truly get over the divorce. Not playing the victim is the difference between a hard, unfulfilling life and a life of peace and joy. I swear by that.
I know a woman who has played the victim for 45 years. She is still blaming her ex-husband for everything in her life that isn’t going well (which is everything.) She never got over the hatred, the bitterness and blaming her ex husband for leaving her, so she made bad choices. Her victim mentality was stronger than her self love, and therefore she could never prosper professionally or in personal relationships.
I think it’s understandable to play the victim for a little while. But at some point, it not only becomes unproductive, but it will destroy you, and it will ruin you (and the kids.)
The opposite of “victim” is “criminal” or “culprit” so I don’t want to tell people to be the opposite of a victim. But, in a sense, yes, be the opposite. Be the culprit (which technically means “the accused person.”) Be accused of pursuing your dreams, finding things you love to do, having as much fun with your children as you possibly can.
Be accused of going out on dates, traveling too much, smiling excessively and finding love again. You’re only a victim until you decide you’re not one anymore. That is how to get over a divorce.
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