YUMA, Arizona. Divorce can be a difficult time for all involved. While forgiveness might be the last thing on your mind right now, it might be wise to take a moment and consider the benefits of dropping your grudges—before you finalize your divorce. Why? Divorce is ultimately a legal and financial process. When emotions get involved, things can get complicated. Sometimes, it makes sense to take a few weeks to process your emotions before moving forward with your divorce.

Grudges and anger can harm your health. According to Vice , feelings of resentment and anger lead to increased levels of cortisol. This can increase your blood pressure and heart rate. In addition to the health risks of holding a grudge, anger during your divorce can make a divorce settlement hard to reach. Anger can cloud your judgement when it comes to making important financial and legal decisions. After all, the last thing you want is your anger interfering with your child custody decisions. Anger can impact your ability to resolve differences regarding co-parenting, which can make your divorce more difficult for you and your children.

While divorce will bring up tough emotions—even anger, it can be helpful to approach the process with a cool head. Divorce is a legal and financial process, after all. The decisions you make during your divorce can impact you and your family for years to come. Having a divorce lawyer like Schneider & Onofry, P.C. in Yuma, Arizonaon your side can make a difference in negotiations should emotions get heated, but at the end of the day, there are certainly steps you can take to nurture forgiveness.

Anger can be a productive emotion. It lets us know when an injustice has occurred and when we need to take steps to protect ourselves. But, if you are taking steps to get a divorce, you’ve done what you need to do to protect yourself. Take a moment and acknowledge that you’ve honored your emotions.

The next step after protecting yourself is finding ways to let go of the anger. One recommendation is to try to live in the present. Acknowledge your anger, talk to a friend or loved one, and focus on the now. Meditation sometimes helps, but others benefit from counseling or support groups. You might also want to take some time to consider the situation from the position of your ex. While this might not excuse any bad behavior, it can help you gain important perspective.

How do you know if you need to work on forgiveness during your divorce process? According to the Huffington Post , thoughts of revenge, thoughts of trying to annoy your ex, and repeated thoughts about the narrative of how you have been wronged could be a sign that you might need to do some work.

Of course, feelings of anger, resentment, and occasionally indulging in negative thoughts about your ex are entirely normal and are part of the healing process. It is when you cannot let go of the thoughts or when you find yourself unable to handle other tasks, like work, or your divorce settlement, that these feelings can become intrusive.

If you are struggling with the divorce process, it can be useful to get the help of a neutral third party. Schneider & Onofry, P.C. are qualified divorce lawyers in Yuma , Arizona who may be able to help you.