Deborah Cornwall published on ABC online an article headed “Stressful marriage more likely to kill men, study finds”.
A Danish study of 10,000 men and women aged between 36 and 52; conducted over 10 years, has concluded that an unhappy marriage can triple the prospects of a premature death to the male in it; with the prognosis worse still when the man is unemployed.
Deborah Cornwall:
“The study found 6 per cent of men and 4 per cent of women went to an early grave.”
The main cause of death was:
– Cancer;
– Heart disease;
– Stroke;
– Liver disease; and
– Suicide.
The study reported that half of the deaths could have been prevented if there was the absence of:
– A hostile marriage;
– A difficult relationship with their children, and
– Issues arising from unemployment.
Professor Rikke Lund, author of the study:
*”.. not all arguments will end up having this deadly end, but in general if you have these stressful relations, very frequently that will lead to an increased risk of death.”
*“The research contradicts other studies that find married men fare better, live longer and are healthier.”
*“That may be true generally, but it depends on the relationship.”
We finally note that the ill health effects were not limited to the men in unhappy marriages:
“6 per cent of men and 4 per cent of women went to an early grave.”
How can contacting us help if you are stuck in an unhappy marriage or defacto relationship?
First, if you do separate, it is very important to have a family lawyer who will stand up for you when it counts. Having experienced unhappiness brought about by the stresses from a marriage or defacto relationship, what you need is family lawyer who will help to ease these stresses where possible after separation rather than an intensification of them.
Further, family law legal services are not limited to what happens after the breakdown occurs.
We can further assist by:
1) Advising you of what your legal rights and obligations will be if you do decide to separate so that you can make an informed decision.
2) Putting you in touch with family counsellors and organisations who offer parenting programmes which clients’ often report as being helpful.
3) Putting you in touch with marriage counsellor. The Commonwealth government has put in place a programme whereby newlyweds’ are eligible for a $200 voucher for marriage counselling from July 1, 2014.
4) Advising you about things like a binding financial agreements.
Binding financial agreements can be put in place before during or after a relationship.
They are legally binding documents which provide contractually who will get what and who will pay for what upon a declaration of separation.
By entering one, it ousts the Family Court of jurisdiction to make property orders upon a relationship breakdown. That is, the Family Law Act does not apply.
Those entered into prior to marriage are sometimes referred to as “pre-nups.”
To the extent that financial stresses fuel marriage stress, in some cases, a binding financial agreement might be beneficial because of the clarity and certainty it brings.
Please call or email us today to discuss if we can assist you if you are in an unhappy marriage or defacto relationship; or you have separated or might be about to and you want a family law solicitor who will stand up for you.
We look forward to hearing from you.
[The full text can be read at – http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-10/study-finds-stressful-marriage-more-likely-to-kill-men/5444260]