4 Stages of Divorce and Separation

In many ways divorce is like going through the death of a loved one, involving loss and grief. It changes the structure of the family forever. Divorce causes the loss of hopes and dreams of what marriage and a family are supposed to be.

There is no one experience of divorce. Changing status from being married to being single can present varied difficulties in emotional adjustments for people who defined themselves primarily as married and coupled.

The way a person experiences divorce depends on many factors: socioeconomic status, what part of the life cycle they are in, and whether the divorce is a “friendly” one or “adversarial”.

Even then, a person’s response to transition will vary with his/her point of view and individual experiences. Some see divorce as failure and experience depressions, while others define it as freedom and experience relief.  Most fall somewhere in the middle.

The stages of divorce presented here are similar to the stages a person goes through when grieving a death.  They are simply general guides.  Some people may experience them in the order they are presented; others may experience a few of the stages, but not all.  Still, others may not experience them at all. The point is that divorce is a process, and it may not be the same process for everyone as going through stages of divorce means different things to different people.

Although individual reactions to the divorce process are varied, there is a typical and predictable series of psychological stages some pass through.

Stages of divorce for the initiator of the divorce are different than the stages of divorce for the non-initiator. The initiator in the divorce experiences the pangs of pain and grief much before the non-initiator does. A non-initiator experience the trauma and chaos only after they first hear the word, divorce. That’s why the question, “how long to get over divorce?” has different answers for the initiator and the non-initiator.

The four stages can be labeled denial, conflict, ambivalence, and acceptance.  Awareness of these stages will help to understand that adjustment to divorce is a process rather than a single event.  It usually takes two to three years to form a strong attachment to a person and for some people, if separation occurs after this time, it usually involves a reaction called separation shock. 

The first stage in the stages of divorce is mainly characterized by denial and separation shock. The individual may experience relief, numbness, or panic. (Relief is often felt when the divorce has been an extended, drawn-out process). The most typical reaction to separation is fear of abandonment. The emotional response to this fear is often apprehensiveness and anxiety.

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Here’s more on stages of divorce

Stage 1- The world seems to have come to an end

Anxiety

Going through a divorce is a sapping journey. Divorce process entails anxiety. Anxious feelings may be accompanied by disturbances of sleep or appetite patterns. Irrespective of the question, how long does it take to get over a divorce, you have to learn coping mechanisms to keep anxiety at bay. Anxiety is corrosive and makes getting over divorce all the more tumultuous. 

Depression

Decreased in food intake and increased in time spent sleeping are probably related to depression. Both anxiety and depression are indications of separation shock and commonly experienced during stages of divorce.  Often during this time clients will report that they are unable to concentrate on work activities or carry on conversations with people.  They may experience sudden outbursts of tears or anger.

Rage

Other people report that they often lose control of their anger and, for what later seems to them to be an insignificant reason, explode into sudden flashes of rage. 

Numbness

Many people experience feelings of numbness or the absence of feelings trying to navigate unknown stages of divorce. Numbness is a way of muting or denying feelings, which, if experienced, might be too overwhelming for the individual to handle.

Emotional vacillation

Often during Stage 1, a person vacillates between these emotions – feeling first anxious, then angry, and then numb. For many, these emotions are often combined with feelings of optimism about their new lives. This stage of separation shock can last anywhere from a few days to several months.

Guilt and anger

Often one partner wants the divorce more than the other. The person who leaves is often burdened with enormous amounts of guilt and self-blame, whereas the remaining partner potentially feels more anger, hurt, self-pity, and condemnation of the other. Both individuals suffer during one of the many such stages of divorce.

Coming to grips with the marriage ending

The principal problem of Stage 1 for many people involves coming to grips with the fact that the marriage is ending. The emotional task of the person at this stage of the divorcing process is to accept the reality of the separation.

Stage 2- Experiencing a multitude of emotions

Unpredictable feelings accompanying stages of divorce

Shortly after separation shock, one may begin to experience a multitude of emotions, one occurring right after the other.  One minute people may feel perfectly comfortable with their new lifestyle, and a minute later they may find themselves in tears, reminiscing about their former spouses.  Shortly thereafter, remembering a negative event or an argument, they may feel enraged.  The only thing predictable in this stage is the unpredictability of feelings.

Scanning

People will reminisce about what went wrong with their marriages, who was to blame, what their own role was in the failure. They relive the best times in the marriage and mourn the loss of the more intimate aspects. Scanning may also provide constructive insight into their own patterns in relationships.  In this sense, it can be a valuable learning experience.

Loss and loneliness

During this stage, a person may experience a sense of loss and loneliness, similar to that which a person experiences at the death of a loved one. Loneliness can manifest itself in many ways. Some may become passive and isolate themselves, withdrawing from social contacts. Others may experience a more active type of loneliness. Instead of sitting at home, they may frequent old restaurants, pass by their spouse’s home, or go from one singles bar to another, desperately looking for solace from their loneliness.

During this time also, any negative feelings and emotions the person experiences as a child, such as separation anxiety, low self-esteem or feelings of worthlessness, may resurface, causing the individual much distress.

Euphoria

Conversely, in Stage 2 may experience periods of euphoria. Some divorcing people feel a sense of relief, increased personal freedom, newly gained competence and reinvest emotional energy into themselves which was previously directed toward the marriage. This is one of the emancipating stages of divorce. 

Evening out the emotional swings

In sum, stage 2 is an emotional see-saw, characterized mainly by psychological conflict. The emotional tasks of the individual during one of such stages of divorce are to achieve a realistic definition of what their marriage represented, what their role was in its maintenance, and what their responsibility was for its failure. This is one of the most challenging but ultimately fruitful stages of divorce. 

The danger is that divorcing people in Stage 2 may think that the worst is over only to become depressed again. Unfortunately, the emotional see-saw of this stage (and the other stages) makes it even more difficult to work with lawyers, make decisions, and sometimes be an effective parent.  

Stage 3- The beginning of identity transformation

The ambivalence of Stage 3 may involve changes in a person’s identity. In many ways, this is the most psychologically stressful aspect of the divorcing process. Being married is a primary source of self-identity. Two individuals enter a relationship with two separate identities and then co-construct a couple’s identity about who they are and where and how they fit into the world.  When their relationship ends, they may feel confused and fearful, as though they no longer have a script telling them how to behave.  

At this time the divorcing person faces a major change in self-perception. Often during this time period, they may try on different identities, attempting to find one that is comfortable for them. Sometimes during this period, adults go through a second adolescence. Similar to their first adolescence, people may become very concerned about how they look, how they sound. They may buy new clothes or a new car.

Many of the struggles an adult experienced as a teenager may reappear and may find herself trying to decide how to handle sexual advances or when to kiss a date good night. People may engage in sexual experimentation as they make attempts to explore their new sexuality outside of the marriage. This qualifies as one of the self-exploration stages of divorce which can lead to new discoveries and learnings. 

Making the psychological transition

The emotional task for the person divorcing at this stage is making the psychological transition from being “married” to being “single” again.  This identity transformation, for many, is psychologically the most difficult and stressful undertaking of the divorcing process.  

Stage 4- Discovering the new ‘you’

Acceptance

Characteristics of Stage 4:  Finally (and the time varies from months to perhaps several years), divorcing people enter stage 4 and feel a sense of relief and acceptance about their situation.  After a while, they start to experience a new sense of strength and accomplishment.  For the most part, in this stage, people feel quite content with their lifestyles and no longer dwell on the past.  They now have a sense of awareness and knowledge of their own needs.

Resolving the loss

Although many of the feelings triggered by divorce are painful and uncomfortable, they ultimately lead toward resolving the loss so that, if the person desires, he or she will be emotionally able to re-establish an intimate relationship.

In Stage 4 feelings of well-being begin to take precedence over feelings of anxiety and anger.  Divorcing people become able to pursue their own interest and put their former spouses and marriages in a perspective they are comfortable with.

A word about therapy and divorce psychology

How to get over a divorce? Is therapy the key to help transition and getting over a divorce?  Post-divorce depression can take a toll on a person from a few weeks to a few years.

While many people feel relief during and after the divorce, many others experience a wide range of discomfort at the ending of their marriages, struggling to cope with stages of divorce and looking at answers to the question, “how to get through a divorce?”. Sometimes those who experience extreme amounts of discomfort do not go through the stages of divorce and experience resolution. Some individuals get ‘stuck’.  

Although most people would benefit from therapy while going through this major change, those who get ‘stuck’ in navigating stages of divorce would especially find therapy most useful. Clearly, one of the steps to getting a divorce is finding a good therapist, which is close on the heels of finding a good divorce attorney. A good therapist will help you overcome pain during the emotional stages of divorce.

Men and divorce emotional stages

Be it stages of divorce for a man or a woman, the painful process of marriage termination takes a toll on both. It is often assumed in our patriarchal society set up that a man needs to suck it up and not display grief. This can be very damaging for the overall mental well being of any man who is undergoing divorce healing stages.

A man experiences disbelief as the first stage of divorce, traversing from divorce healing stages of denial, shock, anger, pain, and depression before he can finally reconstruct his life. 

Still wondering how to get over a divorce? Remember there are different stages of grief after divorce. With the help of prevalent optimism and therapy, you will be able to complete the trajectory from a downward “I will die alone” to an upward ” I can finally pick up the pieces and live my life happily again”. 

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Dr. Corinne Scholtz Marriage & Family Therapist

Corinne completed her Doctorate degree in Family Therapy in Florida and holds a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from New York. She has co-published numerous articles in her field. With a rich experience of 12 years in family and marriage therapy, she is currently serving as a private practitioner... Read more with a broad community of clients. Corinne’s goal is to provide support to her clients who are facing issues like grief and loss, stress, relationship troubles, depression and anxiety. Healing, building and securing emotional connection, and understanding the painful patterns that you and your spouse fall into are all a part of her couples therapy. Read less

(Corinne Scholtz is also listed in Best Marriage Therapists in Fort Lauderdale)