COVID-19: Impact on Families and Divorce

Coronavirus is impacting everything in the current climate: working, socializing, eating, sleeping… For those of us who were already going through something difficult (like a divorce), the recent changes have made those transitions even harder.

Recently, area divorce support guru Kathey Batey interviewed Katie Zuverink, clinical director of Lifeologie Counseling Grand Rapids in Ada, about how COVID-19 is impacting our families who are going through a divorce. Katie has recently begun working on creative and innovative ways to support community families going enduring two of the most stressful life events they may experience.

Katie talks about the dynamics of combining all of the below:

• Expectations we normally have for ourselves: to be a good mom/dad, to be a good employee, to be a great parent, to keep up with laundry, to make sure the house is clean and the yard isn’t looking shaggy…
• In combination with one of the most difficult times in our lives: living through a pandemic that removes us from our social supports and normal coping skills
• The complication of rearranging the family through divorce, and doing so in a way that’s healthy for all parties involved.
• The guilt that we put on top of ourselves by saying “I should be able to stay on top of all of this. There’s something wrong with me.”

Katie explains why this is not only false, but it’s harmful to your well-being. She also gives tips on how to STOP this guilt spiral.

Kathey and Katie discuss how all of these changes interact with the process of divorce, and how to talk to your kids (of any age) about everything that’s going on. In this video, you’ll find concrete tips for how to talk to your kids, words to use, and how to respond in a way that is validating and helpful.