You Can Evade the Poor Health Impacts Associated with Divorce

The link between divorce and poor health outcomes has been reliably documented over the years through countless studies. Social scientists have discovered that there is a more than 20 percent higher mortality rate for people who’ve experienced divorce than for those who are still married. Clearly divorce can have a negative effect on the health of many individuals.

Humans Need Connections 

It’s well known that experiencing close relationships is correlated with higher levels of wellbeing and better overall health. It makes sense, then, that becoming socially isolated can lead to poor health outcomes. For most, being married has a clear connection to a longer and healthier life. Men are at greater risk of poor health outcomes than women following a divorce—maybe because they often lack high-quality relationships with friends. Statistically speaking, divorced men are much more likely to meet an untimely death than divorced women.

Additional Factors of Import 

The sense is that those who have quality relationships and who are socially embedded tend to use those factors to better regulate emotions.  That, in turn, has affirmative metabolic impacts, which results in better health overall. There are more factors that impact one’s ability to get through a divorce in good mental and physical shape:

• Age: Younger people tend to fare better than their older counterparts.
• Income: Women, in particular, enjoy better health when they have higher income;
• Previous divorces: The number of previous divorces, impacts one’s health during a current divorce.
• Divorce Initiation: The partner who asked for the divorce usually fares better than the partner who did not;
• Conflict: The degree of conflict during the divorce itself can have a huge impact on mental—and ultimately physical—health.
• Children: Having kids in one’s life correlates with better health outcomes.
• New Partners: Meeting someone new is largely allied with better health outcomes.

Tips for Surviving Divorce

Clearly, you are not a statistic, and poor morbidity and mortality due to a divorce is not inevitable. Protecting your mental health is up to you!

• Resolve differences during the divorce process and later on with minimal conflict whenever possible. That means examining issues from the other person’s perspective, making reasonable concessions, and behaving courteously in all interactions with your partner.
• Create personal goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, and time critical.
• Construct a social support network. Don’t resist relying on friends and family—but avoid leaning on your young children with adult concerns.
• Figure out how to coparent in a way that puts the kids first.
• Take the time you need to suffer through the disarray of divorce, and then get your feet on the ground and then move forward.

The Legal Advocate You Need 

The experienced Boca Raton divorce attorneys at WiseLieberman 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 Boca Raton office today.

Source:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4397145/