Surviving the Holidays: with a Divorce Coach
When you’re going through a divorce or separation, the holidays can be especially difficult. You may be embarking on your first solo vacation or managing co-parenting, both of which present unique emotional and practical challenges. As you prepare to face the holidays with dignity and calm, a Certified Divorce Coach can offer support and guidance targeted to your specific situation. Here’s how consulting with a divorce coach can help you navigate this season with confidence and clarity.
Visualize Your “Best Self” This Season
Define Your Ideal Self for the Holidays
Consider which version of yourself you want to be around the holidays. This “best self” picture might help you stay grounded and guide your decisions throughout the season. Reflecting on your vision with a divorce coach might help you stay focused throughout emotional ups and downs.
Identify Possible Obstacles
Consider the challenges that could disrupt your tranquility, such as uncomfortable conversations, probing queries, or sad recollections. Recognizing probable challenges ahead of time allows you to plan tactics for dealing with them productively.
Plan Steps to Support Your Best Self
Work with your divorce coach to establish realistic goals and coping strategies. This approach may include navigating unpleasant talks, practicing mindfulness, or setting emotional boundaries.
Plan the Holiday Season with Purpose
Set a Holiday Schedule
Plan major holiday events while balancing family, friends, and personal time. Knowing when you’ll be with your children, family, or on your own can provide a reassuring structure in an uncertain situation.
Prioritize Self-Care
Collaborate with your coach to create a season-long self-care program that includes physical exercises and mental health practices that offer you calm. Consider setting appropriate food and drink restrictions and engaging in enjoyable activities such as spending time in nature or practicing appreciation.
Prepare for Challenging Moments
Plan Responses to Sensitive Questions
The holidays frequently bring well-intentioned yet unwanted questions. Having a plan for dealing with these inquiries in a way that respects your limits will help you maintain your mental health. Practice replies with your coach that will keep your dignity and tranquility.
Find Purpose in Helping Others
Volunteering might be an effective strategy to move your focus away from your own problems. Giving back, whether at a food bank, shelter, or local charity, can provide purpose and a reassuring sense of connection during this season.
Embrace New Traditions and Memories
Create New Traditions
The holidays may be a time of regeneration and new beginnings. To commemorate your new life chapter, consider organizing a yearly vacation, starting a new family ritual, or creating unique memories in your own home.
Honor Special Dates
Consider ways to make birthdays, anniversaries, and other significant milestones surrounding the holidays more meaningful. A Certified Divorce Coach can help you find ways to approach these difficult situations with care, even if they are bittersweet.
Reflect on Your Journey
Looking back, my personal holiday season following separation was difficult. My birthday, just a few days after Christmas, served as a harsh reminder of the many changes in my life. But I made it through, determined to keep going. In retrospect, I realize that having the support of a Certified Divorce Coach would have provided more serenity and less loneliness during that difficult period.
If you’re going through a divorce during the holidays, consider working with a divorce coach. With their help, you may negotiate this season with dignity, discover methods to care for yourself, and lay the groundwork for a bright future.
Take advantage of a FREE 30-minute discovery session with The Bridging Coach to learn more and get started: Schedule your session here
For further reading on managing emotions during divorce, visit Psychology Today’s Divorce Support and HelpGuide’s Emotional Skills for Handling Divorce.
