How Marriage Affects Your Health

Is marriage good or bad for your health?

Numerous studies suggest that marriage and health often go hand-in-hand. In the first place, healthy people are more likely to get married. Historically, married people tend to be in better health than singles.

According to a major international study which spanned 15 countries and involved 34,493 people, marriage is beneficial for the mental health of both men and women and results in a lower risk of mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.

On the other hand, a divorce, separation, or becoming widowed is linked to a substantial increase of mental health disorders in both genders, which usually manifests as depression in men and substance abuse in women.

Moreover, studies show that married people are less likely to:

• Experience back pain and headaches
• Smoke
• Get pneumonia
• Need surgery
• Develop certain forms of cancer
• Suffer heart attacks
• Suffer from dementia
• Have a violent death

But in terms of weight management, married men are more likely to be obese or overweight. Men and women who have never married tend to be slimmer.

All married couples – happy or unhappy – are bound to experience some form of marital stress. A Swedish study of 300 women previously hospitalized for severe chest pains or heart attack revealed that those who deal with the highest levels of marital stress were nearly three times more likely to suffer another heart attack or require a bypass or other procedure.

Another study found that wives who were unhappy with their husbands and experienced high stress within their marriage increased their risk of heart disease due to “wear and tear” on their bodies. And yet another study showed that domineering men and hostile women increased their risk of cardiovascular blockages.

Whether you’re married or not, happier people tend to be healthier, as stress is a key factor in any illness, Dr. Mercola points out. It’s virtually impossible have a stress-free marriage, much more a stress-free life. But it’s not the fighting or stress itself that is unhealthy. Your emotions, positive and negative, play a major role in your physical well being.

Dr. Mercola recommends the Meridian Tapping Technique (MTT)/Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help you release bottled up emotions safely and effectively. Conventional stress management tools like meditation and relaxation exercises help you cope with stress, but don’t address the cause. MTT targets your disrupted energy meridian system, which causes your heightened stress levels. MTT’s a simple, do-it-yourself acupressure technique that balances out your energy to eliminate your body and mind’s damaging stress response, which is the root of so many illnesses.

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Tags: Dr. Joseph Mercola, Emotional Freedom Technique, heart disease, Meridian Tapping Technique, stress management