A recent study titled “The Influence of Divorce on Men’s Health” has revealed that men who undergo divorce may be at substantially increased risk for stroke, disease and death. The research, published in the Journal of Men’s Health, claims that single men are more likely to suffer from cancer, hypertension, heart disease and even simple colds compared to their married counterparts. Even more alarming, the study suggested that divorced males have mortality rates that are 250 percent higher than married men.
The study’s findings do not necessarily mean that divorce is unhealthy. In many cases, dissolving a marriage is the best way for Michigan men to escape unhappy, dysfunctional or even abusive relationships. The president of the International Society of Men’s Health commented on the study, explaining that the apparent health effects imposed on men by divorce may be due to commonly held notions that males should be “tough, resilient, and less vulnerable than women,” but such is not the case.
This suggests that men who attempt to bear the emotional and mental burdens of divorce alone likely suffer from increased amounts of emotional and mental stress, which frequently translates to real health problems. Men who seek therapy or psychological counseling following a divorce may be less likely to suffer such dramatic health effects. Of course, a quality attorney can also lessen the divorce’s impact on one’s financial, emotional and mental health by properly defending one’s interests.
The study also found links between divorce and mental health issues. Divorced men were shown to suffer from depression more often than married men, reinforcing a 2013 study that reported an uptick in antidepressant prescriptions among Finnish citizens in the months before their divorces. The Journal of Men’s Health study also found that recently divorced men are more likely to suffer from substance abuse.
Source: Huffington Post, “Divorce Can Have Serious Impact On Men’s Health, New Research Finds” No Author Given, Sep. 30, 2013