Making the decision to end your marriage may cause you to feel an overwhelming sense of relief. Of course, that relief may turn into anxiety or fear over how long the divorce process might take or if the case will make its way to a Michigan courtroom. Anger and resentment are other common emotions that you may experience during the process of leaving your spouse.
You may feel conflicted
It’s not uncommon for those who are going through a divorce to experience what feel like dueling emotions throughout. For instance, you may be happy that you have regained control over your life but resentment about how your spouse treated you. You may also feel sad about the end of the marriage even if it presents greater opportunities for personal growth.
You may experience a burst of confidence
Opting for a divorce is one of the hardest things that a person can do. This may be true even if your spouse isn’t a danger to your health or safety as they may believe that a divorce is an admission that they wasted several years of their lives. However, this is simply a version of the sunk cost fallacy which says that you’ve already invested too much to try something new. Fortunately, this feeling tends to go away after making the decision to divorce and is replaced by a sense of confidence and empowerment that comes with knowing that anything is within your reach.
While it’s natural to experience a range of emotions during a divorce, they shouldn’t impact your decision making during the settlement process. This is because an outburst in court or breaking marital property in a fit of rage could reduce your odds of a favorable child custody ruling.