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Going through a divorce is one of the most challenging things that a person can experience in life. Especially if there is a lot of trauma taking place or there are children involved, your friend or loved one is going to need a lot of support. Luckily, there are plenty of things that you can do to support a loved one during this hard time, whether they are someone who’s just recently been married or someone in an assisted living community that’s been married for decades.
To help you see what you can do to be of service, here are three tips for supporting a loved one through a divorce.
Build Their Confidence In Making Decisions
The decision to get divorced can bring up a lot of questions about other areas of their life. And while you might be tempted to give advice, especially if it’s being asked for, you’ll want to be careful with how much guidance you dole out.
Ideally, any advice that you give should be followed up with your confidence in their ability to make the right decisions for themselves. While it can be incredibly helpful to talk through things with someone else, what your loved one really needs at this time is someone who believes in them and in their ability to know what will be best and to move forward in that manner.
Assist With Life’s Basics
The emotional turmoil that can be caused by a divorce can make it hard for your loved one to take care of some of the most basic things in life. Especially if their former spouse usually handled those aspects of their life, lending a hand with those basics can be incredibly helpful.
While you might be tempted to ask what you can do to help, what often proves to be more helpful is to just jump in where you see a need. This might mean running the kids to where they need to be, bringing over a healthy dinner for everyone to eat, or doing a load of laundry or dishes. These seemingly insignificant things can help a sense of normalcy come back for your loved one.
Keep Them Involved In Your Life
When you know that someone is going through something hard, you might be tempted to just leave them be to deal with things how they need to. But sadly, this can often leave people feeling like they’ve been abandoned at the most crucial times in their lives.
To keep this from happening to your loved one, you should commit to continuing to invite them to things that they did before they got divorced. If you were on a team together, had a favorite hobby you enjoyed, or got together for regular meals or parties, make sure you keep these events going and always invite your friend to them.
If you have a loved one that’s going through a divorce, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how you can show them your support.
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