Recent Study Discusses the Emotional and Physical Toll of Divorce

Everyone knows that divorce is a stressful time for couples, their children, and their friends and family. But what may not be obvious is the physical toll that emotional stress has on a family. To be sure, the decision to divorce isn’t reached lightly. Those who initiate divorces tend to believe that the stress of a major change in their life is less of a problem than the stress of enduring the marriage for the rest of their life. In other words, the stress may not be related to the divorce, but the emotional turmoil and fighting that led to the decision to divorce. A recent study discusses the physical and emotional toll of divorce and the risk factors involved with stress.

Messy Divorces Result in a Greater Mental Toll 

While the study showed that all couples endure some form of stress during divorce, those that reported the worst physical and psychological symptoms were those who had major fights, hostile communications, and other major conflicts.

The study stopped short of saying that the divorce itself was taking an emotional toll on couples and instead pointed the finger at the couple’s interactions. The mental and physical consequences of divorce were related to emotional distress within the marriage that led to the decision to divorce.

The Grief Process 

Recent studies show that divorce has the same healing trajectory as any grief process. Indeed, divorce is such a major change to one’s life that it requires a process of grieving to move past it. When divorces are tumultuous, it’s largely the result of the spouses being at different stages in the grieving process. Even spouses who need a divorce to move forward with their lives will mourn the loss of the relationship and their old way of life.

As an example, let’s say a couple fights a lot and one spouse has simply had enough while the other spouse figured it would always be this way and that fighting and yelling were a part of any passionate relationship. One spouse has already made the decision to move on, dealt with fears over terminating the marriage, and has now accepted the fact that the marriage is over. The other spouse is blindsided by the decision and demands to work it out. Meanwhile, the other spouse has already moved forward. Here, you have one spouse in a state of denial, while the other has already dealt with their feelings and accepts the decision.

The study indicates that this is so. Recently divorced couples fared much worse with their psychiatric and physical symptoms than those who had been divorced for many years. Those who had mutual divorces or peaceful dissolutions also fared better. Those that experienced recent “divorce conflict” had the worst physical and emotional symptoms.

Talk to a West Palm Beach Divorce Attorney Today 

Divorce is a stressful time, but it can be more stressful to stay in a marriage that supplies endless conflict. Call the West Palm Beach divorce attorneys at Bruce S. Rosenwater & Associates today to discuss your goals and move forward with the next chapter of your life.

Resource:

usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-12-04/study-gauges-mental-physical-toll-of-divorce