Latest / Magic Divorce Club Podcast / Ep 17: Anxiety After Divorce (Christmas Special)
Transcript
- 0:01SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the magic divorce club podcast.
- 0:05This is your space to successfully navigate your divorce with
- 0:10confidence and create
- 0:11SPEAKER_00: a roadmap to the life of your dreams.
- 0:15SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Hannah Harvey,
- 0:16I'm the author of How to Divorce Sober and I have helped
- 0:20thousands of women to
- 0:21SPEAKER_00: process the trauma of divorce and step into an exciting future.
- 0:27Please like and subscribe because this really helps my little
- 0:31podcast to grow and
- 0:33if you would like more from me you can subscribe at
- 0:36magicdivorceclub.substack.com
- 0:40SPEAKER_00: for a host of other support tools.
- 0:46Hello and welcome to this week's Magic Divorce Club podcast and
- 0:52today I wanted to
- 0:52talk about anxiety in general because obviously as you're going
- 0:58through divorce
- 0:59anxiety is something that many of us just sort of exist and
- 1:05live with but what I've
- 1:09noticed particularly at this time of year once Halloween has
- 1:13happened all of a
- 1:14SPEAKER_00: sudden
- 1:16Christmas is upon us so as someone who is navigating
- 1:21disconnecting from your family
- 1:25unit from your marriage from your relationship from your
- 1:30identity as a full-time
- 1:32SPEAKER_00: mum as a wife and
- 1:34SPEAKER_00: This can just send the anxiety that is already in your body,
- 1:40SPEAKER_00: like Christmas I mean,
- 1:41SPEAKER_00: or big events coming up through the roof.
- 1:45SPEAKER_00: So,
- 1:45SPEAKER_00: you know,
- 1:46it can come out in just generally feeling so overwhelmed that
- 1:50you don't even know
- 1:51SPEAKER_00: where to start.
- 1:53It can come up in feeling like you're just not good enough and
- 1:57really comparing
- 1:59SPEAKER_00: your existence to everybody else around you.
- 2:03you could feel really quite financially stretched and panicked
- 2:08and it can also
- 2:09bring out real like feelings of just loneliness and isolation
- 2:14and you know almost
- 2:18like pressure to keep yourself isolated because you don't want
- 2:22to necessarily
- 2:24burden your loved ones or you know your friends about how
- 2:29you're feeling so overall
- 2:32SPEAKER_00: it's like
- 2:36SPEAKER_00: this is something that has really come up for me.
- 2:38SPEAKER_00: Like I definitely felt the pressure of Christmas prior to splitting up.
- 2:43SPEAKER_00: Like I remember I'd written myself a note in January of like,
- 2:47SPEAKER_00: you need to get this shit done in like October,
- 2:51SPEAKER_00: November time,
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: because,
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: you know,
- 2:53SPEAKER_00: we used to have the big house and everybody would come to us.
- 2:56SPEAKER_00: We had to host everyone.
- 2:57SPEAKER_00: We had the presents.
- 2:58SPEAKER_00: We had to,
- 2:59SPEAKER_00: Like loads of logistics to think about.
- 3:03SPEAKER_00: So I definitely had it.
- 3:04SPEAKER_00: But there's something about it now that just lands differently.
- 3:13SPEAKER_00: And it's almost like a trauma response.
- 3:16SPEAKER_00: So I can feel it bubbling up as soon as Halloween has passed.
- 3:21SPEAKER_00: I literally have.
- 3:23SPEAKER_00: I'm going to show you on the video if anybody's there.
- 3:25SPEAKER_00: It's a fucking Christmas tree, guys.
- 3:28I saw it in Sainsbury's and I love the little ones with the
- 3:31little things on and I
- 3:33SPEAKER_00: was like,
- 3:33SPEAKER_00: I'm just going to get it now because then it's done.
- 3:36I'm like getting home and going wow this is this is a lot this
- 3:41is crazy kind of
- 3:42behavior in some ways I mean there's people that I've spoken to
- 3:45I went into B&M the
- 3:46other day and the woman in there was like I am already you know
- 3:50I bought everything
- 3:51and I've wrapped it I don't even know what you mean you're just
- 3:54starting um and
- 3:56this was just before Halloween so I know there are some of you
- 4:00who are like they're
- 4:01super organized in the world who are just like I have this
- 4:04already sorted and
- 4:07SPEAKER_00: However,
- 4:08SPEAKER_00: you may,
- 4:09SPEAKER_00: even if you've got everything packed and wrapped and whatever else,
- 4:13SPEAKER_00: still have this bubbling underlying feeling of anxiety.
- 4:17SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm just not quite sure what to do with this energy.
- 4:23And as the noise around kind of,
- 4:26you know,
- 4:28Black Friday and the sales and...
- 4:34SPEAKER_00: Just this pressure to get everything, but add a deal.
- 4:38SPEAKER_00: I don't want to miss out.
- 4:39SPEAKER_00: It all just compounds.
- 4:42SPEAKER_00: So this kind of not enough,
- 4:44SPEAKER_00: we haven't done enough pressure is going to just get louder,
- 4:49which is why I really want to focus my energy and in turn
- 4:55support you in focusing
- 4:56SPEAKER_00: your energy as we go through this next stage to be like,
- 5:03There are things we can do to control how we're feeling about
- 5:06this and we don't
- 5:08need to necessarily jump on the bandwagon of buying all the
- 5:12stuff because it can be
- 5:14so tempting to just throw money at the problem and then leave
- 5:18ourselves in a worse
- 5:19SPEAKER_00: situation in January.
- 5:22So what I wanted to really talk about today as a way of
- 5:26managing this underlying
- 5:28SPEAKER_00: bubbling anxiety of the season,
- 5:31SPEAKER_00: which obviously if you're listening to this in April,
- 5:34SPEAKER_00: it's still relevant.
- 5:36SPEAKER_00: But the theme here is that we're still in autumn right now.
- 5:41SPEAKER_00: And the energy of autumn is this feeling of refinement.
- 5:48SPEAKER_00: So...
- 5:50SPEAKER_00: It's actually governed by the element of metal,
- 5:53which is all about creating space and looking at what you're
- 5:56doing and what changes
- 5:58SPEAKER_00: you can make to make improvements,
- 6:01SPEAKER_00: which is pretty fucking cool energy if you ask me.
- 6:04So what we're talking about here is things like how we regulate
- 6:11ourselves,
- 6:12SPEAKER_00: how we can refine the things we do in our day to make us feel better.
- 6:16SPEAKER_00: You know,
- 6:18returning to ourselves and creating space so that we fully
- 6:22understand how to manage
- 6:24SPEAKER_00: our energy.
- 6:26SPEAKER_00: And yeah, while everything else is speeding up around us, what can we do
- 6:31SPEAKER_00: to really establish great boundaries going into this winter season.
- 6:41So it's obvious that the nervous system is going to basically
- 6:46treat Christmas as a
- 6:47SPEAKER_00: bit of a threat.
- 6:49SPEAKER_00: We have been through a lot as women,
- 6:51SPEAKER_00: mothers,
- 6:51divorcing people that have gone through the trauma that you are
- 6:55currently living
- 6:56SPEAKER_00: in,
- 6:59SPEAKER_00: the overstimulation,
- 7:01SPEAKER_00: the expectations,
- 7:03SPEAKER_00: the money requirements,
- 7:05the amount of co-parenting and extracurricular things you're
- 7:10going to have to do
- 7:11SPEAKER_00: with your ex is bound to send your body into a sense of,
- 7:18SPEAKER_00: I am under threat here.
- 7:20SPEAKER_00: So it's like that feeling of just high alertness.
- 7:24SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you,
- 7:24but I get it in things like over checking my emails or like
- 7:31going to check things.
- 7:33SPEAKER_00: Like what have I forgotten?
- 7:35SPEAKER_00: That feeling of I've forgotten something.
- 7:36SPEAKER_00: I need to go back in and just double check.
- 7:39SPEAKER_00: And the reality is my body's just going,
- 7:42SPEAKER_00: shit man,
- 7:43SPEAKER_00: Christmas is coming and I have to perform my motherly duties.
- 7:48And be a good friend and be a good girlfriend and look happy
- 7:54and make sure that I
- 7:55do crafty things and have a wholesome time and get all the
- 8:00right presents at the
- 8:01SPEAKER_00: right price on this day.
- 8:04SPEAKER_00: God, it's all about you.
- 8:05SPEAKER_00: That's just sending me even more into overwhelm.
- 8:09SPEAKER_00: So we're going to put this down.
- 8:11And what I would love to share with you today is a few really
- 8:15great techniques that
- 8:16you can do to help you refine the way that you're going to
- 8:23approach Christmas this
- 8:25SPEAKER_00: year,
- 8:25SPEAKER_00: especially if it's the first time you're doing Christmas as a divorcee,
- 8:31SPEAKER_00: as a single mum,
- 8:32SPEAKER_00: as a woman who is no longer married.
- 8:37SPEAKER_00: So coming back to this idea of the metal element,
- 8:41SPEAKER_00: this is about refinement,
- 8:44letting go of things that are no longer serving you and really
- 8:48getting clarity and
- 8:51structure and discernment around what you're going to do into
- 8:55this next season.
- 8:59SPEAKER_00: And the idea is that we are kind of, it's the season for letting go.
- 9:04So the trees let go of their leaves and then all of the leaves
- 9:08then nourish the ground beneath.
- 9:11SPEAKER_00: So it's nourishing the roots,
- 9:12SPEAKER_00: like that energy is going down in and they are,
- 9:16SPEAKER_00: during this period of deep rest as we go into Christmas,
- 9:21SPEAKER_00: all of those lessons are being integrated,
- 9:24SPEAKER_00: they're being learnt,
- 9:26SPEAKER_00: they're being,
- 9:26SPEAKER_00: I guess,
- 9:29SPEAKER_00: like,
- 9:31SPEAKER_00: just...
- 9:32SPEAKER_00: really held within the body so that we can go into the new season,
- 9:37SPEAKER_00: you know,
- 9:37SPEAKER_00: when we all emerge in spring,
- 9:41SPEAKER_00: almost like with the cocoon,
- 9:43SPEAKER_00: you know,
- 9:43SPEAKER_00: we're coming,
- 9:44the butterfly coming out of this cocoon and the cocoon being
- 9:48our lessons that we
- 9:49SPEAKER_00: needed to learn.
- 9:55SPEAKER_00: So what I would love you to do is to have just a little ask of like,
- 10:00What can I do to cut back and simplify and make space for me in
- 10:08this period?
- 10:13SPEAKER_00: So it might be, maybe you do just need to go and sort Christmas now.
- 10:18SPEAKER_00: Get the stockings sorted.
- 10:20Get a really clear idea of what the presents are that you're
- 10:25going to buy so that it's done.
- 10:26SPEAKER_00: And then you can just go into the next season really feeling prepared.
- 10:31There's a chance that you still won't because of the pressure
- 10:36of the season.
- 10:36But at least that thing's ticked off so you feel less anxious
- 10:40about that bit.
- 10:43And one of the things that I have decided to really integrate
- 10:47into this next season
- 10:48SPEAKER_00: is a new morning routine.
- 10:51Because I've noticed that as I get more and more anxious,
- 10:56I'll drink more and more coffee.
- 10:58SPEAKER_00: And yeah, me and my friend Katie, we call it a cup of anxiety.
- 11:02SPEAKER_00: So it's literally like I'm waking up and drinking anxiety.
- 11:06SPEAKER_00: And that is not how I want to go into this season.
- 11:11SPEAKER_00: So I am feeling more prepared in terms of getting presents sorted,
- 11:16SPEAKER_00: having an idea of what I'm getting my kids at least.
- 11:21But I don't want that feeling of I need to be enough for my
- 11:28kids and to over
- 11:29SPEAKER_00: deliver to prevent me from actually,
- 11:32SPEAKER_00: you know,
- 11:33it's two or it's like a month and a half or whatever it is
- 11:36until the end of the
- 11:36SPEAKER_00: year.
- 11:37SPEAKER_00: And I don't want that to be clouded with
- 11:40SPEAKER_00: Just constant anxiety.
- 11:44SPEAKER_00: So what I would love to show you is it's called lung nine.
- 11:49SPEAKER_00: And this is, so you know acupuncture.
- 11:52SPEAKER_00: This is,
- 11:53there's loads of points on the body and loads of meridian lines
- 11:56that go throughout
- 11:57SPEAKER_00: the body.
- 11:57SPEAKER_00: So if you're like trying to get pregnant,
- 12:00they would stick needles in a certain place if you're
- 12:03struggling with anxiety
- 12:04they'd stick needles in a different place and so one of these
- 12:07points that might be
- 12:09used for you if you are in our position maybe struggling with
- 12:14asserting your
- 12:15boundaries even with yourself um struggling to pick how what
- 12:23the truth is for you
- 12:24SPEAKER_00: and how um
- 12:26SPEAKER_00: You want this next period to be.
- 12:29SPEAKER_00: This point here is so good for that.
- 12:32SPEAKER_00: And when we combine it with breath work,
- 12:35SPEAKER_00: like just simple breathing,
- 12:37it is going to have such a calming effect on your nervous
- 12:41system and help you
- 12:42SPEAKER_00: connect into things like what your boundaries are going to be.
- 12:46SPEAKER_00: So it's on the palm side of your hand, just on the wrist.
- 12:51And then if you go down your thumb,
- 12:55you'll feel that there's a little point just in here.
- 12:57SPEAKER_00: And I will share in the show notes exactly where this point is.
- 13:01But it's basically directly underneath the thumb at the
- 13:05connection of the wrist.
- 13:07SPEAKER_00: And if you hold this point on the left side,
- 13:09so the left being this governs your inner world and the right
- 13:13governs your outer
- 13:14SPEAKER_00: world.
- 13:15And all I want you to do when you feel that panic rising is
- 13:20hold this earth,
- 13:22SPEAKER_00: it's the earth point.
- 13:23So that nurturing,
- 13:25nourishing energy of earth comes in to this is a metal point.
- 13:34SPEAKER_00: So I just want you to hold that point,
- 13:37SPEAKER_00: circling around,
- 13:38SPEAKER_00: start on the left side and just taking deep breaths in.
- 13:41SPEAKER_00: So you inhale for four and then exhale for six out through your mouth.
- 13:54SPEAKER_00: Do that for a minute on one side and then move to the other side.
- 14:00And again,
- 14:01just giving it a little wiggle and actually noticing which side
- 14:05is more painful.
- 14:06SPEAKER_00: Because it might be that actually you're completely sorted.
- 14:11SPEAKER_00: So maybe the right side doesn't feel too bad,
- 14:14SPEAKER_00: but you've got this underlying,
- 14:17SPEAKER_00: what have I forgotten feeling?
- 14:18SPEAKER_00: So then maybe it's the left side that you need to work on more.
- 14:22SPEAKER_00: But just noticing.
- 14:23SPEAKER_00: And then again, on the right side, holding that point.
- 14:28SPEAKER_00: I'm finding it harder to find on the right side.
- 14:32SPEAKER_00: There it is.
- 14:33SPEAKER_00: So it's directly under the thumb and you'll feel like a little knobble,
- 14:39SPEAKER_00: like a little round ball and you want to be just below it,
- 14:42SPEAKER_00: pushing up towards the thumb.
- 14:46SPEAKER_00: In for four and then out the mouth for six.
- 14:54SPEAKER_00: Just notice what comes up.
- 14:56SPEAKER_00: Do that for a minute on each side and then maybe just make
- 15:00SPEAKER_00: A little,
- 15:01SPEAKER_00: you know,
- 15:01a journaling point of what can I do today to make me feel
- 15:06grounded and safe?
- 15:08SPEAKER_00: Or you could even just sit in script.
- 15:10SPEAKER_00: I'm so happy and grateful that I feel safe and grounded and I am enough.
- 15:17SPEAKER_00: That kind of thing.
- 15:25SPEAKER_00: So something that I have done this week,
- 15:32I'm doing an online course at the moment and they're kind of
- 15:35teaching you how to
- 15:35SPEAKER_00: use AI a lot more strategically.
- 15:39SPEAKER_00: And so in teaching me how to use ChatGPT better,
- 15:44SPEAKER_00: we looked at creating a morning routine and I am like,
- 15:49SPEAKER_00: why haven't I done this before?
- 15:51SPEAKER_00: Like, and I get it.
- 15:53SPEAKER_00: Like, I understand what you're meant to do, but my...
- 15:57normal routine is wake up with the kids make them some
- 16:00breakfast make myself a
- 16:02coffee sit and stare out the window whilst I'm sat next to them
- 16:06for maybe like 20
- 16:07minutes during which time I probably had two coffees and then
- 16:10we all get dressed
- 16:11and then I take them on to school the school run takes about an
- 16:15hour to an hour and
- 16:15a half and then I come home and I'm like I need to recover
- 16:20before I can even start
- 16:22SPEAKER_00: work so the the little
- 16:26prompt is like create me a 60 minute morning routine and I
- 16:32added in for I'm a
- 16:36single mum I added in my age I told it kind of like the periods
- 16:42of time that I had
- 16:44SPEAKER_00: So the first 15 minutes, I'm basically making breakfast.
- 16:47But what could I do from quarter past six to quarter to six
- 16:52that would actually be
- 16:53SPEAKER_00: so much more productive than me just sitting and having a coffee,
- 16:56SPEAKER_00: which is going to then add anxiety onto my anxiety?
- 17:03SPEAKER_00: So yeah,
- 17:04I'm going to give you guys some prompts in the show notes that
- 17:06you can try out for
- 17:07SPEAKER_00: yourself in ChatGPT and see what it comes up with.
- 17:11SPEAKER_00: But mine is...
- 17:14SPEAKER_00: I'm going to start with a big glass of water.
- 17:17SPEAKER_00: I'm going to do 10 to 15 minutes of gentle yoga.
- 17:21SPEAKER_00: Like I'm a yoga teacher.
- 17:22SPEAKER_00: I know exactly what I need to be doing every morning.
- 17:25SPEAKER_00: And we're not talking like crazy exercise.
- 17:28SPEAKER_00: It's just waking my body up a little bit.
- 17:31SPEAKER_00: And then the third thing,
- 17:32SPEAKER_00: if I have time and my kids are happy,
- 17:35SPEAKER_00: is I will do maybe 10 minutes of...
- 17:39um well five minutes of just calm breathing doing my meditation
- 17:44um i work with a
- 17:46goddess called marichi so i would sit and do that um mantra for
- 17:52maybe it only takes
- 17:53about a minute to do that mantra and then just sit in that
- 17:56energy and do a little
- 17:58bit of um scripting because you guys know i love a bit of a
- 18:02manifest in the
- 18:08to take my kids to school to oh okay this is how I'm going to
- 18:12start my day um with
- 18:14intention of feeling much calmer because I've breathed and I've
- 18:17moved a little bit
- 18:19so I shall report back but already you know I didn't have my
- 18:23kids this morning so I
- 18:24SPEAKER_00: could try it out for size um
- 18:28SPEAKER_00: And already I feel like I've got so much more done.
- 18:31SPEAKER_00: Like I felt much calmer.
- 18:33SPEAKER_00: Instead of being like, fuck, what am I going to do?
- 18:35SPEAKER_00: I need to do this.
- 18:36SPEAKER_00: I need to do that.
- 18:37SPEAKER_00: Trying to write to-do lists in 50 different places.
- 18:40SPEAKER_00: I started calm and just settled.
- 18:43SPEAKER_00: And it was really beautiful.
- 18:46SPEAKER_00: So give that a little try.
- 18:49SPEAKER_00: I've put the prompts in the show notes so that you can try some of those.
- 18:55SPEAKER_00: And...
- 18:57You know I want to gently kind of segue into the anxiety around
- 19:04co-parenting at
- 19:05this time of year because obviously you can control yourself
- 19:09but you can't control
- 19:11SPEAKER_00: all the other things that are going on around you.
- 19:17So one of the main things that I did through divorce and
- 19:21continue to do now is to
- 19:24SPEAKER_00: stay focused on how I want my kids to feel.
- 19:30SPEAKER_00: So I want them to feel loved,
- 19:32SPEAKER_00: surrounded by people who care about them,
- 19:34SPEAKER_00: regardless of how I feel about those people.
- 19:37SPEAKER_00: I want my kids to feel loved and safe.
- 19:42SPEAKER_00: So when I'm manifesting and scripting, that's what I'm writing.
- 19:50and by doing that it kept me calmer and it kept me I guess a
- 19:57bit more able to go
- 19:58with the flow and not feel quite as triggered if things don't
- 20:01quite go to plan and
- 20:05you know whatever your chat comes back with around how you can
- 20:10start your day to
- 20:11SPEAKER_00: make you know to encourage your body to feel safe and to encourage you to
- 20:16go into co-parenting stuff um feeling more regulated feeling
- 20:21calmer um less
- 20:23triggered by what your ex is doing because you know this first
- 20:27time is bound to be
- 20:28full of emotions so i want you to be really kind to yourself
- 20:34and bear that in mind
- 20:36and you know the calmer you are the easier the interactions are
- 20:42going to be as um
- 20:45SPEAKER_00: As you go through things like,
- 20:47SPEAKER_00: you know,
- 20:47the drop off or having to communicate about what Christmas is
- 20:51going to actually
- 20:52SPEAKER_00: look like for you this year.
- 20:53SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
- 20:56keep connected to your breath because the chances are you are
- 21:00going to have some
- 21:03SPEAKER_00: difficult conversations.
- 21:04SPEAKER_00: They just might be.
- 21:06SPEAKER_00: It could be on the one hand, they couldn't care less and that's sad.
- 21:12SPEAKER_00: Or they're fighting...
- 21:14SPEAKER_00: Full blown for, you know, the opposite.
- 21:18SPEAKER_00: So there is a middle ground.
- 21:20And the most important thing is that your kids get their
- 21:23presents and feel really
- 21:24SPEAKER_00: great and have a beautiful Christmas despite what's going on.
- 21:31SPEAKER_00: And I know that you're able to do that for them.
- 21:33I know that they are going to feel held and safe by you because
- 21:37you are looking
- 21:38after yourself and making sure that you're super calm and that
- 21:41will just feed into
- 21:43SPEAKER_00: how they feel as well.
- 21:44SPEAKER_00: Okay, so you cannot...
- 21:54shop or plan your way out of anxiety stuff is just going to
- 22:00come up that you cannot
- 22:02plan for um but you can control yourself before it's even
- 22:09started so creating this
- 22:12kind of morning ritual where even if it's just one minute on
- 22:17each side of holding
- 22:18SPEAKER_00: that lung nine and being like
- 22:25SPEAKER_00: That is going to do so much for...
- 22:27SPEAKER_00: It's actually great for your lungs,
- 22:29which is really good for both creating boundaries and
- 22:33protecting your immune
- 22:34SPEAKER_00: system.
- 22:37You know,
- 22:38even just starting there and starting your day with
- 22:40intention...
- 22:42before you then pour on your cup of anxiety that's my plan
- 22:46anyway um and just as a
- 22:50little like notice for the group coming up at the end of
- 22:54November we are talking
- 22:55about co-parenting through divorce with an incredible expert in
- 23:02parenting and in
- 23:04divorce and she is called Ashley and she's amazing and she's
- 23:08going to talk us
- 23:08SPEAKER_00: through kind of
- 23:12the best tools and techniques there are for co-parenting for
- 23:17creating boundaries
- 23:19for staying regulated through any season that is coming up for
- 23:23you um and yeah that
- 23:27is free for lux members of the magic divorce club um but if you
- 23:32would like to come
- 23:33SPEAKER_00: along and you're not a full-blown member
- 23:36I'll share the link in the show notes because it's £20 if you
- 23:39want to come and
- 23:41SPEAKER_00: you're not a member,
- 23:41SPEAKER_00: if that makes sense.
- 23:43SPEAKER_00: Okay, my loves, you've got this.
- 23:45SPEAKER_00: I have got you.
- 23:47SPEAKER_00: Tell me what's coming up for you.
- 23:49SPEAKER_00: Please tell me what chat suggests for you in terms of your daily routine.
- 23:56SPEAKER_00: And yeah, just let me know.
- 23:58SPEAKER_00: I'm here for you.
- 24:02SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening.
- 24:04SPEAKER_00: And if you could subscribe and leave a review, that would be amazing.
- 24:08SPEAKER_00: For all of your tips and tools,
- 24:11head over to magicdivorceclub.substack.com and you can find
- 24:19everything that you
- 24:20SPEAKER_00: need there.
- 24:22SPEAKER_00: You've got this and I've got you.