Divorce and Your Physical Health

While contemplating divorce I started working out and walking a lot. I just knew that suddenly I had all of this nervous energy and it had to go somewhere. Plus I knew that part of my recovery would include getting healthy. Your physical health can impact every area of your life. It just makes sense to get active and stay active.

Having so much stress bouncing around in my mind I started off by walking every night. It wasn’t long before I was walking an hour or more. Then I found a route with several hills for a bigger challenge. This gave me lots of time to process the emotions that kept coming up. It was truly therapeutic to be outside, taking care of myself physically and emotionally. It wasn’t long before friends started to notice my weight loss. 

Within 4 months I lost about 30 pounds. I didn’t really have a goal, I just knew that what I was doing was keeping me sane. One day I was getting dressed and realized that most of my clothes were too big and I needed new clothes. After ordering some new outfits, I started to feel really good about myself. The previous year I had celebrated a significant birthday and I was shocked when the photographer sent over the photos. In addition to my beautiful outfit I was wearing my unhappiness in weight. It didn’t matter that I had received so many compliments that night because I knew I was overweight. There is no way I would have taken my physical health seriously within the marriage. I had to get free. 

This year I had the biggest struggle in terms of my physical health. There was just a season of life challenges and I felt like I was under constant assault. I fell into a space where I stopped working out. Mentally I felt exhausted and I had little energy for working out. That was a trap and I know that. Part of me wanted to give myself a break but it went on for too long. One day I woke up and realized I had to just start again. I vowed not to beat myself up over it but move on at a pace I could be comfortable with. Little by little I felt better physically but most importantly mentally. 

During this whole process I have learned so much. When we are unhappy we neglect ourselves terribly. Going forward I know that doing so is a huge indicator that I’m struggling. I feel good when I’m taking care of my body. I don’t need to put restrictions on what I eat or push myself to work out too much. I just need to have a healthy balance. That is when I’m doing what is in my best interest without making excuses or stressing myself out.

Regina H