A Bad Marriage is as Unhealthy as Drinking and Smoking

Couples who continuously disagree have poorer health.



 A man sleeping in bed with an unhappy woman,sleeping with backs turn against each other or the woman sleeping on the couch is an example of an unhappy relation.

A bad marriage, with frequent conflicts, could be as detrimental to your health as smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol.

 Disagreeing over multiple topics – such as children, money, in-laws and leisure activities – had negative health implications.

I followed married couples over the first 16 years of marriage and compared the subjective health of wives and husbands who reported a greater number of conflict topics to those who reported fewer,”
Marital conflict negatively affected health for both husbands and wives, although there was a greater impact of conflict on men than women. Couples who agreed with each other more experienced health benefits early in their relationships, but this protective effect most often wore off in the later years of marriage.

Spouses  were ask to answer questions about their health, including whether their health interfered with their work, if they were healthy enough to do the things they wanted to do, if they were having trouble sleeping, if they were bothered by nervousness and feeling fidgety, and whether they were troubled by headaches.

Conflict in a relationship can lead to damaging responses in the body such as inflammation, changes in appetite and increased release of stress hormones, all of which can affect numerous aspects of health ranging from heart function to the immune system or even mental illness.

A body of evidence suggests  happily married people tend to live longer, healthier lives than those who are divorced, widowed or never married. “They have better psychological wellbeing, they are less likely to develop illnesses, and they heal faster when they are sick.

Marriage is always a good thing when it comes to health and wellbeing.

 “Experiencing a great deal of conflict in a relationship is very damaging to health, as are negative health behaviours like smoking and drinking,”

“It’s not the act of walking down the aisle or signing a marriage licence that is beneficial for health, it is what spouse do for each other throughout the marriage that counts. if you are thinking of getting married because you are of age or your friends are getting married think twice.. don't rush in to it.

According to my personal research Some types of marital conflicts some how affect women health more than men, for example cheating, conflicts with in-laws tend to affect women more . some specific number of disagreement topics was unrelated to women health, the decline in husbands’ health was driven by the number of disagreement topics put together especially finance.

Conflict can be particularly damaging for health if spouses are hostile or defensive during disagreements or if they are arguing about the same topic over and over again without any resolution,especially if it becomes violent.

Experts warned that these bodily responses to relationship conflict can cause long-term damage.

“There’s quite a bit of research linking relationship conflict to different types of physiological responses, such as increased release of stress hormones, inflammation, changes in appetite regulation, and immune functioning,”

“It isn’t the case that a single fight in a relationship will irreparably harm your health, but frequent fighting over many years will take a toll – it’s important to work on communicating with each other effectively to help minimise conflict.”
 Few years ago a couple lived in the next building to mine but just as i tried to mind my own business this couple will not let it be, always screaming arguing over one thing or the other. The couples window just adjacent to mine. They throw caution to the wind not minding who listening or not, they argue and fought over money, text messages, inlaws, untidy living room, husbands smelling shoes,some times its get physical.
 Very amusing. what on earth brought this two together. When the situation gets out of hand it is the mother in law who comes and take her away most times she is hospitalized.

So if you find yourself in an unhealthy relationship or marriage spanning over long periods it is advisable to  quit such for the benefit of your health and well being.