Starting Over Isn’t Failing—It’s Reclaiming Your Peace

A guide for women navigating divorce while parenting

To the woman at the beginning of a divorce, with kids in tow and emotions unraveling—this is for you.

Divorce is never easy, but when you have children, the weight can feel unbearable. The guilt hits first. You may wonder: Am I ruining their lives? Am I selfish for wanting out? Should I have tried harder?

These thoughts are normal, but they are also heavy with shame. Know this: leaving an unhealthy or unhappy relationship doesn’t make you a bad parent. It may be the bravest and most loving thing you do for your children and yourself. Children thrive in environments where peace, safety, and emotional stability are present—and sometimes that means creating a new path.

The Emotional Storm: Guilt, Depression, and Anger

Divorce often triggers a wave of emotions that can feel overwhelming. Guilt may be loudest, but depression and anger can quietly creep in too.

You may find yourself emotionally shut down or crying unexpectedly. You might feel low energy, helplessness, or a sense of being stuck. Depression in the midst of divorce is common and understandable—your sense of identity, future, and family life is shifting. You’re grieving not just a partner, but the life you thought you’d have.

Anger can also surface in surprising ways—at your ex, at yourself, even at your kids. Anger is often the voice of unmet needs and unspoken pain. Allow yourself to feel it, and more importantly, find healthy ways to express and process it—with the help of therapy, support groups, or wellness tools.

How to Cope and Begin Healing

1. Give Yourself Permission to Feel. There’s no “right” way to feel during divorce. Whether you’re crying daily, numb, or feeling bursts of relief, your emotions are valid. Suppressing them only prolongs the pain.

2. Separate the Decision from Your Identity you are not your divorce. You are not your mistakes. You are a whole, evolving person navigating change. Don’t let shame define you.

3. Take Care of Your Mental Health Therapy can be a powerful support during this time. At OMG Counseling, we help women move through guilt, anger, and depression while rebuilding self-trust and emotional strength.

4. Speak Kindly to Yourself Replace self-criticism with compassion. Talk to yourself the way you’d talk to a friend in your shoes—with patience and grace.

5. Create Stability for Your Kids Children are incredibly resilient when given love, honesty, and consistency. You don’t have to be perfect—just present and emotionally available.

You Are Not Alone

Divorce can feel isolating, but you don’t have to go through it alone. At OMG Counseling, we support women in transition—helping them process their emotions, reconnect with themselves, and step into a new chapter with clarity and confidence.

You are allowed to choose yourself. You are allowed to heal. And yes, you are allowed to thrive—even in the middle of it all.