Old 03-02-2011, 08:15 AM
  # 18 (permalink)  
lillamy
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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(((hugs)))
Talk, talk, talk. Just like this. I don't think I would have made it through as OK as I have if I hadn't had friends to talk with. And Al-Anon, when there was stuff that was so awful I didn't even want to bother my friends with it.

I also almost deliberately compartmentalized. I knew what I wanted -- a divorce. That was the primary thing on my mind. I focused entirely on Getting It Done. Whenever feelings stuck their heads up, I showed them the spare room where I told them they could sit and wait until the doctor had time to see them. I refused to handle most of it until after the divorce was finished. Not sure it's the healthiest way, but it worked for me (and as spouses of As, we're usually pretty good at compartmentalizing...)

And then I focused on one day at a time. At times, I was down to "I can survive the next ten minutes." Deep breaths. And then another ten.

The practical stuff? Lists, lists, lists. I've never ever used my dayplanner as much as I did during those six months. I made it a routine to create routines for everything. And if I told you how many times I showed up at work and realized my lunch was sitting on the counter at home, you'd laugh at me.

And give yourself a lot of grace.
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