January is Divorce Month: The Holiday Season Stress

As we head into another holiday season, the sad reality is that one in five married couples are considering separation and divorce. In fact, January is divorce month. More legal breakups occur in January than any other month of the year. Divorce rates reach their peak after the holiday season as couples have spent more time together. Without the distractions of normal routines, such as school runs and work, relationships suffer. Relationship issues and weaknesses often become more obvious with more quality time together.

In many cases, the desire to divorce does not come as a big surprise to either partner; couples know when their relationship isn’t really working anymore. The holiday season can be the final test to assess how certain they are of their desire to split up. While there is rarely a single incident that causes one of the partners to request a divorce, a holiday season with conflict is often leads to separation.

The holiday season can also involve intense periods of togetherness, often accompanied by financial challenges. All of these added stresses can cause relationship problems to become glaringly obvious. Despite this, many people want to stay together as a family for the holidays; this is especially true for those with children. Even when there are issues, couples often wait until after the holiday season to separate. Come January, the challenge then becomes how to separate in the healthiest way.

There is no denying that holidays are stressful. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, many families participate in holiday festivities. There are planning, decorating, shopping, travelling, attending services and ceremonies, and any number of other celebratory get-togethers.

January is Divorce Month

People are often not aware that the divorce process starts far in advance of the actual separation. Before a person informs their partner that they want to separate and before the actual separation takes place, they have often checked out emotionally. The physical leaving of the relationship is the natural outcome of a process that has been going on for a while, consciously or unconsciously. If you find yourself starting to distance yourself from your partner, it’s a good idea to make sure you have no regrets before you leave. Divorce is never easy and needs careful consideration. It can seem like the simple way out when you are unhappy, but it does cause ripple effects across the rest of your life, including friends, family, career and health.

However, if you are confident that your marriage is over, it is time to start making sincere and honest decisions. You should prepare yourself for the next steps on your “Clear Road to a New Life”. Fairway Divorce Solutions can help lay the foundation for new beginnings and facilitate your divorce from start to finish. We commit to helping families move through a divorce to bring a positive outcome for all parties involved. Together, we can save relationships, lay the foundation for new beginnings and prepare a resolution plan that will stand the test of time.