Secure Your Oxygen Mask

Secure Your Oxygen Mask is a phrase I know you’re familiar with if you’ve every been on an airplane and listened to the announcements about flight safety and what to do in case of an emergency. In addition to finding your life jacket (don’t inflate it inside), locating the exit nearest to you and shooting down some slide off the side of the plane, oxygen masks are to drop down from above. They then instruct to secure your own oxygen mask first before assisting children. Children scared and unsure of how to respond would look to their parents for guidance on what to do, and as a parent, your instinct would be to rush to tend to children before yourself. I imagine if faced with this situation it would be incredibly hard to take care of yourself first, but that’s what the experts say to do. If you run out of oxygen you won’t be any help to them at all. The same principle applies when you’re going through a divorce. I’m not saying you shouldn’t tend to your children, as you of course need them to know how much they are loved and you need to be there for them, but you need to make sure you are as stable as you possibly can be given the current circumstances.

So how exactly does stabilization occur? It’s not as easy as tossing on a mask unfortunately. For some people it might be seeing a therapist. It may be getting back to your place of worship. For others, joining a divorce support group. Maybe for you it’s learning to meditate or practice yoga. Whatever keeps your oxygen flowing properly and allows you to best support your children, that’s what you need to do. The more grounded you can keep yourself, the more capable you will be to help your children deal with their own emotions. Your mask might slip off every now and then. That’s okay. Secure Your Oxygen Mask. Take some deep breaths. You can do this.

If you liked this article, check out this one about Vacations After Divorce.