Divorce and Anger

Nina Chen, Ph.D.

Human Development Specialist

Anger is a natural human emotion. Everyone experiences anger from time to time.  Anger can be a sign to tell us that something is not right that we need to take care of, protect from harm, or make a change.  Anger also can be harmful to us and those around us. Our responses can turn into constructive or destructive behavior depending on how we deal with anger.

Going through a divorce can be painful with a lot of mixed emotions and feelings. Expressing anger in a constructive way helps you go through the healing process after your divorce and helps your children cope with parental divorce positively.  It's important to identify and acknowledge your anger triggers and learn how to handle them. If you don't manage anger constructively or you remain angry long-term, you may feel unhappy, helpless, bitter, lonely, and hopeless. It may drive you crazy and become a barrier for you to move forward

If you have a hard time letting go of anger, you might think about how your children might be affected by your anger.  When anger, fighting, and conflicts continue even after the divorce, negative effects will be shown in children's behavior and they may remain wounded psychologically.