GOLDEN RULES FOR STAYING SANE...

1 LET it go. I’ve spoken to enough people who have gone through a divorce to know that they typically want to hang on to the bad emotions. The hurt, the anger, the unfairness, the resentment, the injustice, the rage — all of it. They want to wrap themselves in it, like a malevolent security blanket, thriving on the drama of it.

I refer you, however, to the top tip in my story above. Eyes on the prize. Remember what kind of future you want. Hanging on to those negative emotions only hurts you.

2 AGREE on the message. Do not announce on social media that your husband is a cheating bastard who ran off with the nanny, or that your wife is a money-grabbing cow.

If you’re not on speaking terms, decide on what your message is, remembering this is what everyone will hear — not only your ex, but your children, the gossip-mongers and potentially the lawyers, too. Keep it dignified.

3 SAVE your sanity by:

READING, listening to music, walking, meditating — whatever works as a distraction.

ACCEPTING all offers of support. I had a WhatsApp group called My Support Group, imaginatively, with a bunch of women who rallied round magnificently and always let me vent or wail at any time of day or night.

LOOKING after your health. When your world is imploding, it’s easy to stop eating or comfort eat, to drink to excess, to become a shopaholic, or so depressed that you don’t exercise.

Everyone has different ways of coping. But unless you take care of yourself, you won’t find the strength to get through the difficult stuff.