You Don’t Need To Suffer Poor Health Impacts Associated With Divorce
Over the years numerous studies have documented the link between divorce and poor health outcomes. Social scientists have noted that the mortality rate is 20 percent higher for people who’ve gone through a divorce than it is for those who are still married. The health impacts of divorce are very real, which is not to say that they’re unavoidable.
The Need for Human Connections
It’s well known that enjoying close relationships correlates to higher levels of health welfare. It’s logical, then, that when someone becomes socially isolated it can result in poor health outcomes. For most people, being married is, itself, a clear connection to a longer and healthier life. Men seem to experience a greater risk of poor health outcomes than women following a divorce—possibly because they commonly lack high-quality relationships with friends. From a statistical point of view, divorced men are much more likely to meet an untimely death than are divorced women.
Additional Factors
The prevailing idea is that people who have quality relationships and who are socially connected are inclined to use those factors to help them regulate their emotions. That, likewise, has affirmative impacts metabolically, which ultimately results in better health overall. Additional factors can affect one’s ability to survive a divorce in good mental and physical shape:
- Divorce Initiation: The partner who asked for the divorce generally fares better than the partner who did not.
- Conflict: The level of conflict during the divorce itself can have a major effect on mental—and ultimately physical—health.
- Age: Older divorcees tend to fare worse than their younger counterparts.
- Income: Higher income impacts health outcomes, particularly for women.
- Previous divorces: A higher number of previous divorces correlates to worse health impacts during a current divorce.
- Children: Having kids in one’s life is correlated with better health outcomes.
- New Partners: Meeting someone new is largely allied with better health outcomes.
What You Can Do
Statistics aside, know that poor morbidity and mortality following divorce is not inevitable. Protecting your mental health is something you can control to a large extent!
- Resolve issues throughout and after the divorce with as little conflict whenever possible. That means it’s up to you to examine problems from the other person’s perspective, make reasonable concessions, and behave courteously in all interactions with your partner.
- Develop and follow through on personal goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, and time critical.
- Build a social support network. Don’t repel friends and family—rely on them when you need to. (On the other hand, never lean on your young children with adult concerns).
- Find a way to co-parent so that the kids are always the first concern.
- Take the time you need to mull over your suffering throughout the chaos of divorce, and then get your feet on the ground and force yourself to move forward.
The Legal Advocate You Need
The Baltimore family attorneys at The Law Office of Hasson D. Barnes have your best interests in mind and will always help you to achieve the best possible outcomes in divorce. Schedule a confidential consultation in our Baltimore office today.
Source:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4397145/
