Divorce Can Be As Devastating As Death

 Posted on June 15, 2012 in Divorce

According to the Chicago Tribune, Debra Umberson, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin, says that "the end of a marriage can be devastating for health," in the same way that losing a spouse to death can be, especially for husbands. "What we see," Linda Waite, a sociologist and demographer at the University of Chicago told the Tribune, is that "divorce for both men and women decreases happiness and increase the chances of dying in the next year."

Though women are generally thought to deal with divorce better than men, divorced men are much more likely to remarry and regain the benefits of marriage. Watie, however, says that "women are really better are managing the health care system. They are better at taking care of themselves." This simple reason might be one why men fair worse after a nasty divorce. "It does have to do with gender roles," Waite says. "Women have a bigger social network… their social networks aren't as shattered when they lose a spouse."

Nonetheless, divorce is ranked among the most difficult things one can go through in life. Dr. Jane Greer, in an article for the Huffington Post, "the hardest thing about divorce is the loss of hope." Everyone going through a divorce, she writes, "has a lodged bullet." In 2009, according to Center for Disease and Control Prevention statistics, the divorce rate was 3.4 for every 1,000 people in the U.S., while the marriage rate hovered at only about double that, at 6.8 in the same year.

Divorce is a complicated process that's best undergone with the help of a professional. If you or someone you know is experiencing divorce proceedings, contact a dedicated Illinois divorce attorney today. Don't go through it alone.