Marriage Is Not Always A Good Thing

Even though the rate of divorce in Pennsylvania and across the country is quite high, many people, even those who have been through a divorce, do hope to marry someone some day. Even if a marriage went wrong, individuals in Harrisburg still want to find someone with whom to spend the rest of their lives. When someone is stuck in a stressful or violent relationship, however, divorce may be the best thing for his or her health.

Sadly, many relationships are plagued with domestic violence. It can be difficult, if not dangerous for someone in an abusive relationship to leave and get help, but it may be even more dangerous to stay. For those who stay, they may be exposing themselves to violence, depression and other physical and emotional problems.

But it is not just violent relationships that may be bad for an individual’s health. A new study has found that stressful marriages have been linked to depression. These are marriages not in which someone is abusive, but those in which a spouse causes tension or lets the other down.

The participants in the study who had stressful marriages were found to have symptoms of depression after 11 years of marriage. Participants were administered an emotional response test during which they were shown 90 images. Those who experienced stress had difficulty responding appropriately to the positive pictures, which indicates depression.

Although it is ultimately up to an individual to determine if he or she should get a divorce, in some cases it may be unhealthy to remain in a marriage. Whether that is a marriage filled with abuse or just stress, it could be dangerous for a person to stay married.

Source: The Huffington Post, “Stressful Marriages Linked To Depression In New Study,” Taryn Hillin, April 28, 2014