Gray Divorce and Adult Children

With the recent rise of divorces among people over the age of 50—sometimes referred to as gray divorce—many are finding that relationships among adult children can get pretty complicated. What’s going on, and what can be done to mitigate the issues?

More Older Couples Split 

The rate of divorce among older Americans doubled in a single decade, and predictions are that the rate will jump by another 30 percent or so by 2030. With over one- third of modern divorces occurring between couples aged 50 and above, it’s clear that older couples are increasingly unhappy together.

The Stress of Divorce 

Even the easiest divorces are pretty stressful, and for couples who’ve been together for decades, the impact on life can be particularly nerve-wracking. The research is clear: both individuals in a divorce experience higher rates of illness, depression, substance abuse, and mortality than their married counterparts. Long-term health impacts are 20 percent more likely for divorcees, including diabetes, metabolic issues, heart disease, digestive problems, and even cancer. They’re also more at risk to experience mobility issues.

Adding Insult to Injury

 When the inevitable stress of divorce is complicated by factors such as the reactions of adult children, anxiety levels can go off the charts.  Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for kids to want to blame one parent for wronging the other. They sometimes cannot accept that their family is breaking apart, despite the fact that they’ve often moved on with their own lives. When adult children become estranged, the impact can be devastating to the parent in question. In fact, when parents lose contact with an adult child for a year or more, research confirms that it exacerbates mental and physical health problems for the affected parent.

Adult Kids Feel Hurt 

While it seems that because children of divorce who are adults themselves should be able to cope with their parents’ changing situation, the fact is that they are generally just as crushed by their parent’s divorce as young kids are. Life will likely change for them in ways they hadn’t considered previously:  What will Christmas look like? How will their kids’ birthday parties be organized? What happens if one or both parents start dating again? For that matter how will simple conversations unroll with so many changes under foot?  It can all feel like too much to handle.

Family Counseling? 

It may seem strange to engage in family counseling at this point in life, but some experts suggest that it could be one way to repair relationships between adult children and their parents following a troubling divorce. It may be worth considering in some cases.

Your Divorce Concerns Addressed

At WiseLieberman, our experienced Boca Raton divorce attorneys always work to achieve the best possible outcomes for you. To discuss your situation, schedule a confidential consultation in our Boca Raton office today.

Source:

psychologytoday.com/us/blog/better-divorce/202208/the-real-long-term-physical-and-mental-health-effects-divorce