There are many approaches that you can take to ending your marriage. While you will need to get a divorce through the court to finalize the legal side of things, the way you go about severing your ties with your spouse is up to you.
One option that gained popularity with celebrities is conscious uncoupling. The Guardian explains Katherine Woodward Thomas created the concept is a five-step process to ending your marriage. Do note this is only about how you and your spouse interact and not how you handle the legal aspects of the process.
Steps one through three
The first three steps in the process are about approaching your emotions. During these steps, you will identify your emotions and define them before finally accepting them for what they are. Recognizing your emotions will allow you to better handle them and move past them. It is about identifying your responses and your fault in why the marriage did not work.
Steps four and five
Steps four and five are where you work with the other person. These steps focus on forgiveness and moving past disagreements to work together and create a new identity for your relationship.
Woodward Thomas explains that through conscious uncoupling you are able to be honest and open about your feelings so they do not get in the way or harm others around you during the divorce. The process also allows you to form a new relationship that makes it easier to move forward, especially if you will have to co-parent children after the split.
In short, the process is about getting into the right mindset to have a smooth divorce without letting emotions get out of control.
