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Rachel A. Sussman, LCSW

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Five Ways to Focus on Your Recovery, Mark Zuckerberg Style

Posted: 02/17/2012 12:30 pm

It's quite astounding how Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have changed our world over the last decade. Whether you follow the news or not, most are well aware of Facebook's initial public offering. The list continues to expand regarding who will soon become millionaires and billionaires. Many on this list, including Zuckerberg, are brilliant entrepreneurs.

It is widely recognized that people who strive for excellence and succeed share certain traits. Many are type A or have perfectionist personalities. Most have an ability to tolerate high stress and/or exist on little sleep. Some are off-the-charts gifted and highly creative. Many befriend fear and are risk takers. However, there is one important characteristic that most successful people share: the ability to remain extremely focused. Apparently Zuckerberg's success can be partially attributed to this.

There are many excellent lessons I have learned from observing high achievers. When I am counseling folks on the mend from a breakup or divorce, I urge them to stay intensely focused on their recovery. Although this sounds completely logical, in actuality, it can be quite challenging. Most divorces are devastating, and during and after the dissolution of a marriage emotions are undulating in ways that can seem inconceivable and unpredictable. The stress associated with adjusting to a new life can feel insurmountable and unmanageable. And many make the classic (and normal) mistake of overly focusing on their ex instead of focusing on their own care.

Even with a divorce at hand, if you can focus on yourself, the benefits will be way worth it. So let's take a lesson from those who move mountains and commit to focusing your way to a complete recovery.

Five Ways to Focus on Your Recovery:

1. Focus on your healing. Healing from a divorce takes time and really shouldn't be rushed. Focus on taking excellent care of your physical health. Make sure you are eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep. Be careful not to over indulge with food and alcohol. Focus on taking care of your mental health. Be sure to process your emotions -- especially the more complicated ones such as anger, fear, and guilt.

2. Focus on building a support system. Support from a variety of sources will help you in many ways. It will combat loneliness and validate your experience as it provides an audience to talk through your story. Talking equals healing. Don't be shy and do reach out for support from friends, family, colleagues and professionals.

3. Focus on understanding why your relationship ended and what part you played in it. Make a point to comprehend why you picked your ex as your lover, how you behaved during the course of your relationship, and how you mourned your breakup. I call this vitally important exercise "Creating Your Personal Love Map." By doing so, you will acquire astounding information that will raise your emotional intelligence sky high and allow you to participate in healthier and improved relationships going forward.

4. Focus on being an excellent parent and co-parent. Children do best in environments where there is stability. Accept your fate, make peace with your ex, and learn how to co-parent effectively together.

5. Focus on letting go and moving on. Letting go is indisputably one of the hardest things to do after a relationship ends. We tend to hold onto many negative things such as old wounds, anger, and revenge fantasies. Many also hold on to unrealistic hopes of reunification. The sooner you let go of the past the better you will feel. Then you can focus on rebuilding a remarkable life for yourself.

 
 
 
It's quite astounding how Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have changed our world over the last decade. Whether you follow the news or not, most are well aware of Facebook's initial public offering. The l...
It's quite astounding how Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have changed our world over the last decade. Whether you follow the news or not, most are well aware of Facebook's initial public offering. The l...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
roadking01
a dem trying to make a difference
02:59 PM on 02/20/2012
my wifes younger sister lost her husband 2 years ago at 47 years old. he left her fairly well off but he paid all the bills,did the cooking and everything without teaching her anything about anything.she is having it rough now. lost a lot of weight and is also a diebetic now. she is about 44 now. i can't even imagine what she has gone through but i feel so sorry for her. i don't know if i could go on living if i lost me wife of over 35 years.i just don't know how anyone does it. i have panic attacks all of the time just thinking about losing her or even one of my dogs. may sound silly but its rough to have panic/anxiety attacks. hope my sister-in-law doesn't have them god bless her heart. we gave him a nice funeral with a harley trike pulling a glass hearse with a bunch of us following. it was very sad but nice. it was his last ride. hard to think about.
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Edwin Keever Jr
Go to Face Book Mr. Ed The person, not the horse
01:57 PM on 02/20/2012
Why focus on recovery after divorce? why not focus on staying together, before getting married?
03:50 PM on 02/20/2012
That is so sweet but not always practical. Sometimes you have a mother in law that butts her opinion in to the point it ruins the realationship. It is important to get a Pre Nuptual for both parties and that will help cut down the fighting in a divorce. It covers the women children and hubby. Say how children will spend time with each parent. I am not sure if that applies if the children are not born yet for a pre nup. I know I tried to get rights before my children were born and the attorney said not until the children are born can anything be drawn up. I was in a gay relationship and now I have no rights to my children because my ex carried them. Even though I provided and took care of them and paid for half the insemination. I have no claim to them.After 12 years of raising them from birth I have no legal rights and she does not let them see me. Plus she told them I was a babysitter and not their other parent. We were together for 8 years before we had the 3 kids and she changed her mind after she got the kids house and thousands of money from me and I have nothing but memories and photos. When they turn 18 I am going to find them and tell them the truth. She gave them my last name hypenated with hers
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Edwin Keever Jr
Go to Face Book Mr. Ed The person, not the horse
05:04 PM on 02/20/2012
What is not practical? If the mother in law that butts her opinion to the point that it runins the relationshid then this will happen before the marrage. If there is no divorce then a pre nuptual is not needed unless you are someone like Paul McCartney who married Peg Leg. If you have children, stay married at least until the children are senile or dead. In other words stay married until the children are old enough to deal with it. What's not practical? Just turn on the car before you put it in gear, think before you jump in the water full of sharks during a feedinf frenzy.
01:06 PM on 02/20/2012
People don't appreciate what a committed marriage partnership really consists of, until one of the beloved partners dies, and then the surviving spouse has to learn to do without any form of emotional support.
09:37 AM on 02/20/2012
"The sooner you let go of the past the better you will feel. Then you can focus on rebuilding a remarkable life for yourself."

Everything else was just "filler".
Just saying...
09:30 AM on 02/20/2012
Bottom line, there are no tricks to getting over a divorce.
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mac2jr
The truth always wins out
09:12 AM on 02/20/2012
Divorce is a financial ruination process for many, and after going through a 24-year court battle, I have to recommend this, Do NOT GET Married..

Unless, you have a very good attorney that spells out all the cause and effects of having a legal mate, having children, having a bank account, having a 401(k) or other retirement account, having property, having parents and their Wills, having jobs that put pressure on the marriage, having jobs that require movement from place to place, having a work place that is 'free' loving in nature, having or getting injured or sick or both, having a military commitment, having ... having ....

Each and every one of the preceding can and may lead to a divorce situation that can take every dime you own, destroy your career opportunities, destroy your credit, destroy your future life by self or with another..

The courts in states like Florida, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Texas, and California are insane, out of touch with reality, and very anti-men. Beware...
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mspat44417
Rock it if ya got it...Music
11:06 AM on 02/20/2012
They have a thing called a prenupt now...Everyone should have one....
03:59 PM on 02/20/2012
Bitter much?
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mac2jr
The truth always wins out
11:49 PM on 02/20/2012
Well when you have a settlement agreement and have fulfilled it, and the courts decide years later to retroactively reverse the agreement, then order a payment fee, which you pay only to find out years later that they are charging hundreds more in principle and interest than you were ordered to pay and are paying, and when you lose nearly $1.25 mill ion for no good reason, yes you get a 'little' bitter...
08:31 AM on 02/20/2012
I am not divorced , I just love helping woman get over their ex's. A good orgasm puts a smile on their face(along with somethimg else) every time ! More power to the woman that I have helped , you have also helped me save my relationship at the same time .Thank You...
01:11 AM on 02/19/2012
How is Mark Zuckerberg related to the content of this article in any way? It isn't obvious to me at least. I read the article thinking it would be something about the girl who rejected him in college (Erica?) that they showed in "The Social Network".
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mspat44417
Rock it if ya got it...Music
11:10 AM on 02/20/2012
It doesn't ,but they have to fill the article..so they just insert things to fill the page..Or the author just likes to see her self in print....
04:35 AM on 02/18/2012
This reminds me of a list I had posted in front of my computer for the first 6 months or so. It did help to keep me focused on me and where I wanted to be rather than wasting my energies on him. Great points!
http://lessonsfromtheendofamarriage.com