When you've been half of a relationship only to find you are no longer, the road ahead seems less like a road and more like a dead end. Whether you're reeling from a death, divorce, or termination of a long-standing union, the unfamiliar single stage means rediscovering who you are and what makes you happy.
Navigate your feelings honestly.
Address any points of tension, painful issues, uncertainties, and decisions, and determine how to best act on your decisions. Believing you'll get beyond the surprise, hurt, or betrayal is the first step.
Grieve.
It's critical to allow yourself to go through the grieving processes. Try to take things day by day. Looking far into the future could seem overwhelming and could paralyze you.
Get active.
Cut your hair. Pick up a new hobby, or rediscover an old one. Focus on the present and what you can do. Reintroduce yourself to you—your passions, ideas, philosophies, loves, and what makes you tick. Spend time on just you.
Join a support group.
Workshops and retreats could offer precious reflective time to make life-changing plans in light of death, divorce, or dissatisfaction. Discussions that focus on loneliness, depression, finance, and child care emphasize the suddenly single phase.
This phase is a transition, not a destination.
Click here to read more advice for those who are suddenly single.
