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Important News Article:

Divorce is bad for people's health,

which is becoming a public
crisis.

Fighting divorce: An
endemic public
health crisis

Posted: 06:15 PM ET
By Akash Goel, CNN
Medical intern

New research contradicts the age-old adage,
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to
have loved at all."

A study, "Marital Biography and Health at
Mid-Life" appearing in the September issue of the
Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that
the middle-aged divorced or widowed have 20
percent more chronic health conditions such as
heart disease and diabetes and 23 percent more
mobility limitations such as difficulty climbing
stairs.

While it may seem odd to think of it as such,
divorce can be

viewed as a public health crisis with
national rates estimated by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to be nearly 50
percent nationally.

A large field of research suggests that
people who are in close, social relationships are
healthier. When marriages are functional, they are
perhaps the ideal form of social and emotional
support. When marriages fail, however, these
mental health bedrocks crumble (among other parts
of your life.)

Kristi Williams, a professor of sociology at
Ohio State University, believes changes in
societal perceptions of the idea of marriage are
influencing rising divorce rates.

"We've come to view marriage as a source of
individual satisfaction whereas in the past
marriage was viewed largely as an institution that
was necessary in order to raise a family," she
says. "When that goes away, it is much easier to
dissolve the marriage."

Tal Ben-Shahar, positive psychologist and
former Harvard professor, argues instead that
we're philosophically less committed to
relationships.

"In the past, people stayed together even
when they were not happy together - for religious
reasons, because of convention, or because they
had no real choice," he says, "Today, both men and
women have more choice, and it's more acceptable
to divorce - hence easier. And when they face
challenges in their relationships, instead of
dealing with these challenges, they opt to
leave."

Williams suggests that many studies have
linked poor marriage quality to poor health
outcomes, and thus improving marriage quality
should be a worthy public health
pursuit.

One example of this is the Department of
Health and Human Services' support of the "Healthy
Marriage Initiative," which provides $150 million
each year towards relationship education to help
strengthen families.

However on an individual level, one of the
most important things we can do to ensure a
successful marriage according to Ben Shahar, is
learn how to handle gridlock: a term coined by sex
therapist David Schnarch that refers to the point
at which couples feel stuck in a conflict
surrounding issues of children, in-laws, money, or
sex and see no way out. While gridlock is often
the tipping point leading to divorce, Schnarch
believes we should embrace these "the drive wheels
and grind stones of intimate relationships" as
essential stepping stones towards realizing a
successful marriage.

"Marriage operates at much greater intensity
and pressure than we expect," Schnarch writes, "so
great, in fact, couples mistakenly assume it's
time for divorce when it's really time to get to
work."

Have you been through a divorce? Did you feel
unhealthy as result?

Posted by: Akash Goel - CNN Medical News
Intern

Link to the article

God bless your marriage
and family.

Jim
Stephens

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