Recent research gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau lists Indiana as the state with the tenth-highest divorce rate in the nation. While divorces in Indiana are common, that doesn’t make them any easier for the people going through them. One way a divorcing couple can ease the divorce process is through mediation.
What is divorce mediation?
When many couples divorce, they typically choose between litigation or mediation. Litigation involves a court making final decisions to resolve a divorce. During this process, each party in a divorce presents their side of matters. As you can imagine, it’s not uncommon for divorces involving litigation to become contentious.
Divorce mediation involves you and your former spouse working with a neutral third party. The goal of mediation is to have divorcing couples work together to resolve their divorce peacefully.
What makes mediation an emotional time?
Instead of mediation causing emotions, people typically feel more emotional about the end of a marriage. While it can be the only way to resolve matters, divorces signify the end of a relationship. This situation can become more emotional if there are children from this marriage in the mix.
Managing emotions during mediation
While mediation is typically less adversarial than litigation, it can still be an emotional process. Anger, guilt, fear and confusion can all arise during mediation sessions.
You can help manage unwanted emotions during mediation by:
- Not being hard on yourself for feeling emotional
- Avoiding using accusatory language against your former spouse
- Having a support system to vent about mediation-related matters
- Practicing deep breathing before, during and after mediation
- Utilizing exercise, getting enough sleep and being mindful of your diet, especially before and after meditation sessions
Resolving a divorce through mediation isn’t without emotions. However, mediation can be a great way to let both parties in a marriage end this arrangement while getting what they want.