In order for you to be able to provide your children with support through the separation process you need to look after yourself. You might be dealing with various emotions as well as practical issues, and might be feeling overwhelmed. Additionally you might be worried about the impact of the separation on your children, and uncertain about how to best support them through the transition. First, it might be good to remind yourself that, though your children might initially find the separation traumatic, there is lots of research to show that it will not necessarily have a negative impact on their mental health in the long term. Also, it might be good to know that you can have an impact on the way your children cope with the separation process. As discussed in other parts on the web site there are numerous ways in which you can help your children make sense of the separation and assist them to cope. Having reminded yourself about this, you can hopefully put some of your worries to rest, and start to think about how you can look after yourself.
