The emotional timeline of divorce isn't linear — and it's not what anyone tells you it is. If you've felt relief when you thought you should be devastated, or devastated when everyone thinks you should be moving on, this episode is for you.

Nurse midwife and divorce survivor Rachel Newhouse breaks down what the emotional stages of divorce actually look like in real life — the liberation phase, why grief hits later, when anger finally arrives, and the gut-punch moment that catches every divorced parent off guard.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why relief after divorce doesn't mean something is wrong with you — and the biology behind why leaving a stressful situation actually feels better

• The five distinct emotional waves of divorce (and why applying the Kübler-Ross grief model as a linear checklist is making things worse)

• Why anger often arrives months after you thought you were done — and what it actually means when it does

• What to do when your emotional timeline doesn't match anyone else's expectations

• The gut-punch moment: when it stops being about your pain and becomes about your child's experience

• Practical tools for living inside a nonlinear process: therapy, community, movement, and permission

• Nurse's Note: The physiological reality of stress relief — what happens to your nervous system when a chronic stressor is removed

Ready to understand your situation before your next step? The Breaking Upward tool helps you think through the legal, financial, and emotional pieces of divorce — privately, without storing your information.

Try it free at app.breaking-upward.com

RESOURCES & LINKS

Breaking Upward AI Tool: app.breaking-upward.com

Website: breaking-upward.com

Instagram: @breaking_upward_divorce

TikTok: @breakingupward

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 | Text START to 88788 | thehotline.org

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing here is legal, financial, or therapeutic advice. Please work with licensed professionals for your specific situation. I'm Rachel Newhouse. This is Breaking Upward. You are not breaking down. You are breaking upward.