The dangers of drug and alcohol abuse after a divorce breakup are well documented. Being dumped or abandoned is a painful and devastating event and the natural response to hurt is to just stop it!! Pain hurts, drugs and alcohol give temporary relief. But care for yourself and know the danger signs.
This article by Delphine Hirsch, author of a fantastic book called The Girls Guide to Surviving a Break-up is so right on!
" Now that we have squared away how to get some peace and quiet for yourself, and whom to contact and how, let's move on to the brass tacks of dealing with an initial breakup. You are not yet ready to do a lot of loving things for yourself that will make you feel better and help you inch back toward your prebreakup level of self-esteem or better. You are probably feeling selfdestructive. That's normal. This section is about passing some time safely.
Drugs And Alcohol
You know your limits better than I do, but we both know that your judgment probably isn't at its best right now. For myself, having several cocktails a few nights in a row in the wake of a breakup has been perfectly fine, even great. For you, this might be reckless or worse. So I'm outlining some don'ts and some general ideas that I hope will make you pause and think if you are making decisions about drugs and alcohol use.
Whatever choices you make, remember that it is completely normal for you to be in a lot of pain right now. Also keep in mind that in order to get through the pain, you have to feel it. This is NOT-thank god-an active process. Your brain is at work processing and accepting your heartbreak even as you are lying on the couch crying. But if you numb your brain with mind-altering substances for the next month, it won't perform its usual functions and you won't get any closer to feeling better.
Drugs
* Don't get behind the wheel of a car unless you are stonecold sober. Even then, you are probably tired and blurry-eyed, so I recommend having someone else who is not in the middle of personal trauma chauffeur you around for a little while. Or take a cab.
* Don't take any drugs that have sketchy origins. You don't know what is really in there. You could be risking your life here. I can't say it firmly enough. This is totally unacceptable under any circumstances.
* Don't take any drugs you haven't tried before. This is not the time for experimenting.
