Colorado couples who are going through a divorce know that it can be a stressful experience. A divorcing couple faces potentially contentious issues like asset division, child custody and child support, while at the same time dealing with the end of a familiar family life.
In a high asset divorce these issues can be even greater, as each spouse deals with the splitting up of business assets, pensions and retirement plans. Not surprisingly, the stress of divorce can have an adverse effect on one’s health. A recent article in a medical journal, focusing on men who have been through divorce, provides data which confirms these effects.
Men who are divorced experience higher rates of depression, alcohol and drug abuse, loss of social support, and earlier death. The authors point out that although popular culture portrays men as less prone to emotional trauma than women, this is a myth. Men suffer emotionally, and physically, when faced with negative life experiences like divorce. Although the article focused on divorce’s effects on men, women obviously face many of the same issues, and there has been a lot of research showing the adverse effects of divorce on children.
The negative effects of divorce on health highlight the importance of making the divorce process as cooperative and stress-free as possible for all parties involved. Whenever possible, the parties should try to reach agreement on contentious issues. In addition, spouses going through a divorce should try to find healthy ways to relieve the effects of the stress, like exercise and spending time with friends.
Source: Albany Tribune, “How Does Divorce Affect a Man’s Health?” Sept. 30, 2013
