The Emotional Consequences Of Family Separation

There are many families that are separated for one reason or another. You may have experienced for yourself what it is like to be separated from those you love. This situation is not easy for anyone, especially if the circumstances are completely beyond your family’s control. That is why we think it is important to take a look at the emotional consequences of a family separation.

When family separation occurs as a result of a forced situation, it becomes even more difficult and unbearable. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, we will try to explain the emotional consequences of family separation.

In addition, we give you some guidelines to get through this time as best as possible. If you manage to take control of your emotions, you can find mental stability despite the troubling circumstances.

Family Divorce: Living Separately From Your Loved Ones

There are times when families have no choice but to go their separate ways for a while. This may be due to working conditions, for example. Or it could be the result of extreme problems that force families to break up against their will.

Regardless of the reason behind the divorce, it has consequences on a number of levels. Today we want to look specifically at the emotional consequences of a family divorce. We will also look at how to deal with these emotional states. In other words, how do you achieve a healthy emotional balance?

The Emotional Consequences of Family Separation

For those who live far away from their families, not being able to touch, kiss and hug their loved ones can be unbearable and lead to extreme feelings of loneliness. It means accepting a different rhythm of life. And the person will have to keep in touch with the rest of the family in a different way than he or she is used to.

So are you currently away from your family for an extended period of time? Then you can, for example, plan to spend time online with them regularly and create a daily routine. Modern technology allows us to connect in real time through, for example, video calls. This makes family separation much easier to bear and reduces feelings of isolation and loneliness.

On top of those feelings of loneliness, sadness can also find its way into our daily lives. And this can lead to depression over time. The stress these circumstances impose on our lives, whether we like it or not, can be completely destabilizing.

Suffering from elevated stress levels can quickly lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. All this can occur in the most extreme cases. In addition, people may have to live without family, experience feelings of anger and powerlessness. So, what can we do to prevent all of this from happening?

Guidelines to manage your emotions

One way to manage our emotions in a healthy way is to practice mindfulness. Programs such as MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) teach emotional regulation based on meditation, among other things. The first to introduce this program was Jon Kabat Zinn. Today, however, there are more and more interventions based on introspection, including sessions devoted to emotional regulation.

Mindfulness-based programs attempt to establish emotional control through the body. So once an emotion shows up in the body, we can identify it and then regulate it. In this way we prevent an internal dialogue about the emotion.

In other words, if you can regulate your emotions by focusing your attention on the body, you can eliminate unnecessary emotions that automatically produce negative thoughts about the original emotion.