Divorce or separation can be one of the most stressful and emotionally draining experiences in life. When contemplating divorce — or reeling from your spouse’s decision to end the marriage — it is easy to pay more attention to the negatives. What was your contribution to the marriage’s failure? How will kids be impacted by the divorce? Will you ever marry again?
While these concerns are understandable, it is equally vital to understand that divorce may, sometimes, be the best thing to happen to you. Here are three instances when a divorce may make perfect sense.
When you are married to a controlling spouse
Does your partner control your friends, movement, activities or finances? Do they threaten, express anger or use excessive criticisms to influence you? These are usually the early signs of abusive spouses. If you are married to a controlling and domineering spouse who shows no willingness to change, you might want to consider opting out of the marriage.
Addiction and substance abuse
Addiction and substance abuse can be addressed and overcome. However, unrelenting alcohol and substance abuse, gambling and other addictions can endanger your life, children and/or family relationships. This becomes good grounds for walking out of the marriage. If your spouse refuses to acknowledge the addiction problem or shows no commitment to change, it is best to file for divorce.
Physical and emotional abuse
Violence or inappropriate behaviors either toward you or the children are serious indicators that you need to remove yourself and your kids from the presence of the abusive spouse. Repeat incidents of physical or verbal abuse toward anyone without remorse and commitment to seek help are serious deal breakers in marriage. Left unaddressed, these incidents will take their toll on the relationship with the potential of a tragic outcome.
When you get married, you feel absolutely certain that you have finally met “the one.” Unfortunately, statistics paint a different picture – nearly one in four marriages end in divorce in the U.S. When your “happily ever after” is no longer working, you should not be devastated. Divorce can open up the door to plenty of great things in life.
