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6 Things That Helped Me Move On When I Divorced At 22

“It’s definitely a rough ride, so you have to find whatever makes you happy.”
By 

Senior Lifestyle Reporter, HuffPost

After her 2013 divorce, blogger Chelsie Dort tried to focus on things that made her happy -- like takeout Mexican food and being home during a thunderstorm.
Aliyev Alexei Sergeevich via Getty Images
After her 2013 divorce, blogger Chelsie Dort tried to focus on things that made her happy -- like takeout Mexican food and being home during a thunderstorm.

If there’s ever a time you need a little distraction in your life, it’s during the divorce process. That’s why we launched our Divorce Care Package series. With each post, we’ll show you what things — books, movies, recipes — helped others relieve stress in the midst of divorce, in the hopes that a few of their picks will serve you well, too. Want to share what got you through your divorce? Email us at divorce@huffingtonpost.com.

At 22, Chelsie Dort filed for divorce after almost five years of marriage. Her son was just one at the time, and adjusting to life as a single mom was rough ― but she got through it by surrounding herself with people and things she loved.

“Divorce sucks, but at the end of the day, the world is still full of so much good ― like Crystal Light energy packets and hearing your favorite song from middle school on the radio,” the 26-year-old blogger told The Huffington Post recently. “It’s definitely a rough ride, so you have to find whatever makes you happy.”

Below, Dort, who’s since remarried, shares a handful of things that made her happy post-split.

The List
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"After my divorce, I decided to make a 'happy list.' I had such a hard time focusing on things that made me happy at the time so it was important to remember that there were things in my life that brought me joy. Some of those things were important, like my son and my family, but some weren't, like chicken wings and opening my windows during a thunderstorm. I had to dig deep, but it was amazing to see the improvement that came into my life when I recognized that not everything was a negative just because my marriage didn't work."
The Quote
Canva
"My favorite quote at the time was, 'Everything is going to be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end.' It was a great reminder that while every day felt like the pain was going to end me, my life wasn't over. It was far from over. It was so good for my suffering soul to know that if things weren't OK, it wasn't the end of my journey. I just needed to power through to the next best thing. I had this quote posted everywhere."
The Distraction
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"For a while after divorce, it's all about survival. It's about finding peace and finding yourself. You need to find what's going to get you through it, no matter what it is. On the nights that my son was with his dad, I found myself at the gym for hours, which was such amazing therapy for me, inside and out. I had never been one to work out, let alone step into a gym. I was proud of how strong I was becoming. It showed me that I was capable of hard things."
The TV Shows
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"After a good sweat session, I loved taking long, relaxing showers and then cuddling up in bed to watch 'Criminal Minds' or 'The Walking Dead.' Those creepy shows are my jam."
The Food
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"I lived off Clif Bars and Cafe Rio chicken burritos. I still cannot get enough of either!"
The Splurge
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"I love shopping -- for anything, really, but specifically clothes. But I had to be careful during this hard time not to overdo it. It's easy when life is hard to make poor financial decisions because new things make your heart happy (at least, they make mine happy). But I recognized that I was putting in hard work each day so I could recover financially from something that I never thought would happen to me. I did reward myself sometimes with a little shopping trip here and there. Retail therapy is one of my favorite forms of therapy."

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