Lack of support for people experiencing distress

Hello. A year ago, my husband ended our marriage without warning or explanation. The day he told me he didn’t want to be with me any more was the last day we spent together after 15 years.

I immediately went into emotional shock and the impact was huge. Many of you will know what this is like - physical weakness, problems breathing, inability to eat or process the food you eat properly, inability to sleep, mental distress and anguish. The list is much longer, and it has continued for this whole year although it has got better gradually.

I count myself as fortunate that I am financially stable and do not have children with this man. If I had to continue to see him after this trauma, it would be terrible. I was able to afford therapy immediately and had a supportive employer which meant I could keep my job.

Over the last year I have heard countless stories from other people that they have had a similar experience. What I am mystified about is that there is so little information about the scale and impact of this problem. How many people does this happen to? Is it more likely to happen to women than men? What do we know about the psychological and physiological effect on a person? How should we support people who experience this? How can we prevent adults inflicting this kind of harm on people? What justice is available to people harmed in this way?

I imagine divorce lawyers are very accustomed to getting calls from distressed people who have experienced this kind of abandonment. Ok, so I could talk to a solicitor, go to Citizens Advice, and pay for therapy but what should we be doing to support a spouse who is has experienced this kind of trauma and has to continue to run a home, work, look after equally distressed children?

So, can anyone signpost me to any data, research, specialists - legal, medical, psychologists - that can help me understand this better and work out what might help?

Thanks