The financial and emotional stressors of a divorce are in many ways obvious. Parties may be required (financially) to remain in the same house despite their turmoil, resulting in ongoing arguments and/or suffering in silence an internalizing the pain, stress, and anxiety being felt. The parties may live apart during the divorce, however, the financial strains of maintaining two lifestyles out of the one financial source of the marriage can result in significant stress including debt, loss of the house, and downsizing and decreasing the children’s needs including their participation in their everyday activities and sports. In sum, for many many reasons, the process of a divorce can impact clients physically and mentally. Figuring out how to not only survive the mental and physical impact of a divorce but to successfully move forward or towards a new life post-divorce is often very difficult therefore, paying attention to the physical and emotional signs and acting swiftly and quickly can do wonders for any divorcing party in the long run.

Here are some of the physical and emotional signs that your divorce is impacting your health:

Weight Loss/Weight Gain: Most divorce lawyers notice that majority or good portion of our clients lose a significant amount of weigh (jokingly referred to by our clients as the “divorce diet”. On the other hand, and equally as concerning, many of our clients gain a significant amount of weight. Both situations are troublesome and reflect dependency on food either by not eating (to assert control) or eating too much (seeking comfort in food).   Be mindful of the scale to ensure that your divorce doesn’t leave you in a state of physical distress either being underweight or overweight, as both pose serious health risks.

Trouble Sleeping: Many individuals, during times of stress, suffer from a lack of sleep. Your mind is racing, you feel helpless, and a lack of sleep can easily become your new way of functioning, albeit an unhealthy problem. This lack of sleep raises your cortisol levels, leads to unhealthy behaviors needed just to survive the day, poor work performance and/or work attendance, and overall irritable behavior. Pay attention to those sleepless nights and if they become more often than not seek the help you need to relax your mind at night to ensure that this problem does not become a pervasive habit as a lack of sleep deprives the body of all the recharging sources needed to be healthy.

Chronic Stress, Anxiety and Depression: Divorce can be a lengthy process with constant worry thereby leading to chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Once this worry becomes persistent and daily, often interrupting your day-to-day functioning, you begin to suffer physically. When our bodies are stressed they release the hormone known as cortisol in increased levels, which, disrupts the bodies nervous system and can wreak havoc on our bodies including breaking down our immune system.

As overwhelming and stressful as the divorce process can be, stay mindful to your body on a day to day basis and if any of the above issues become persistent, seek help from a medical and/or mental health professional before they spiral out of control. Remaining healthy, in both mind and body, during this difficult time, can create a much healthier mindset and provide the overall mental and physical endurance you need to not only get through this stressful process but to come out thriving and ready to begin your new journey.

The experienced lawyers at the Martone Law Group can assist you in protecting your rights during the difficult process of divorce. In the event that you in the process of going through a divorce or beginning the process of filing for divorce, call Kelli M. Martone, Esq. at (856) 617-6700 to schedule your consultation today.