Dealing With Emotions in Custody Mediation: Tips for Managing Stress and Conflict

Stress management is the need of the hour- workplace stress or something more tensive like meditation. With great research in the psychological fields and a better understanding of the human mind, there has been a surge in the development of methods for coping with emotional turmoil. A significant proportion of stress affecting the human mind is related to interpersonal conflicts in the family, at the workplace, etc.

Things can get tense and anxious when it comes to stressful situations like divorce or custody mediation. Such situations can create a stressful atmosphere, requiring you to follow an effective coping mechanism that keeps you sane throughout the process. It is rather difficult dealing with divorce and mediation with a narcissist, let alone suffering heartbreak. Ask any mediators whose job is to deal with such conflicts; they will guarantee you an emotional turmoil that tags along in the long process.

When preparing for custody mediation with a narcissist, you may experience several emotions but you can certainly take steps to control them. And sending long abusive texts is not the way to vent your feelings. For custody mediation, you need to prepare yourself and understand some tips that will help you keep your emotions in place while keeping you comfortable.

What Should You Do To Cope With Stress During Mediation?

Mediation with a narcissist can get challenging as it involves various processes. It will not help if you pile up the emotions and vent them straight to a narcissist’s face. However, you can try certain tips and tricks to help you take care of your emotions.

It would help if you kept in mind that the process should go as smoothly as possible for a successful outcome. Narcissists often have trouble understanding other people’s emotions, and they are known for not empathising with them.

Be Around People That You Like:

At this time, when the mediation process is ongoing, you should be around people who you like or love. This group could include your partner, family, friends, cousins, relatives, kids, etc. Try to surround yourself with people who genuinely care about your feelings and understand them well.

In such a condition, you need nothing more than to calm your nerves and relax. This is only possible when you are in the company of people who comfort you through the mental pain and stresses and give you a sense of relief in the turmoil. People around us influence our nervous systems, so choosing the right company is essential.

Opt For Professional Counselling:

You might have heard many people opting for counselling when they are anxious, stressed, nervous or mentally broken. In a hefty situation like custody mediation, you can simplify your emotions with professional counselling help. Choose a good psychologist or counsellor who can help you deal with your emotions for a better understanding of the situation.

Selfish people tend to manipulate and influence you. This can further reduce your chances of calmness during the legal process. A professional counsellor can help you clear your mind, understand your emotions, empathise with you, and give you expert advice on how to deal with the situation efficiently.

You have no control over your negative thoughts and emotions, but a counsellor can help you validate your feelings with their tricks.

Choose A Trustworthy Lawyer:

When dealing with a narcissistic party, choosing a trustworthy lawyer is essential. The party on the other side can take advantage of you and manipulate you in their favour. A good lawyer can help you deal with this situation.

A legal representative with experience in their field can help ensure that any arguments made in the forum are valid, just and fair without favouritism. Their presence can be legally binding, which protects your interests and helps you play the field justly.

Exercise:

One of the proven methods to reduce stress and anxiety in any situation is to activate your body by exercising or meditating. Our nervous system works in sync with other bodily functions. If you keep feeling stressed mentally, your body will tire easily and vice-versa.

To maintain the level of sanity in your mind, you can take up exercising or meditating and add it to your routine. While you do it, you will feel a sense of relaxation in your body and mind, which will control your stressful thoughts and clear your head.

A narcissist can capture your mind and influence it with negative thoughts. Exercising will help you take your mind off the negativity and create a positive, active space around you while helping you in taking control of your emotional subjectivity.

Other Tips:

Document It: Documenting the feelings is also a helpful way to feel relaxed and participate actively in the legal process with a clear head. You can create a journal or record your feelings in a voice note to vent them out.

Distinguish between feelings and behaviour: Do not let your feelings control your behaviour in the mediation. A narcissist can take advantage of your negative behaviour and take the case in their favour.

Discuss it with your attorney: Discussing how you feel with your lawyer is one of the most beneficial ways of dealing with stress.

Try doing some activity that keeps you calm. You can try painting, dancing, singing, yoga, etc.- any activity that calms your nerves and releases your mind. This will take you away from all the stress and clear your head.

Avoid getting defensive or angry, as narcissists are often hard to deal with. They cannot tolerate anger and disgust.

Bottomline:

In custody mediation, you must be aware of what you might go through. Embracing the complexity of emotions and understanding each feeling can help you deal with the situation better rather than venting the emotions out unnecessarily. You need to be aware of your emotions and respond to them carefully to reach a successful conclusion of the case without breaking into any external or internal conflict. A narcissist will always try to displace you and create situations which make you angry, but you need to be calm and subtle in dealing with them.