Watching a friend go through a divorce can be a difficult experience. While you want to help your friend deal with their grief and provide them with support, sometimes you can feel a little helpless. Your friend will be going through all kinds of emotions and while you might have your own feelings about the divorce, you need to push them to the side and just help them through it.
There are different ways you can help a friend going through a divorce, helping to make the time a little easier for them while making sure they feel loved and supported. Here are some suggestions of what you can do during this tough time.
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Keep them busy
If you’ve been through a breakup yourself, you might be familiar with the feeling of not wanting to see anyone or do anything. While taking some time to yourself can help you process your feelings, it’s not good to spend so much time alone.
If your friend is barely leaving the house or talking to anyone, you can help by helping them stay busy. Plan some fun friend dates that will get them out of the house and help take their mind off things. Even if your friend says no, be persistent – they’ll soon see the value in keeping busy.
Help them with the practical things
Going through a divorce can be overwhelming. It’s a big life change that could involve moving house, managing finances, and juggling children. You can help support them with some of the practical things to make things a little easier during this time. Remember that your friend is used to having a partner by their side, so dealing with some of these big changes will be even more of a challenge.
From helping them find a divorce lawyer to packing up the house, you can be a great friend just by being by their side. If there are things you can do to ease the strain at this time, your help will be a big comfort to your friend.
Be there to listen
Your friend will be experiencing a lot of different feelings during this time, and will most likely want to talk about their situation a lot. It’s your job to listen. While you might want to bad mouth their ex or encourage them to meet new people and try dating, this may not be what they need right now. Give them the chance to share how they’re feeling and simply be there to support and encourage them.
A divorce is a significant event that can be comparable to losing a loved one – it can cause a lot of grief, stress, and frustration. One of the biggest benefits of great friendships is having someone who will be there by your side through thick and thin, so when your friend is going through a tough time, be the friend they need to help them get through it.
