The view on Marriage these days has
become one of great concern. Not only to those in the Counseling profession,
but those of past generations who are still alive today and are sincerely
concerned for the well being of their children, and inevitably for their
future. Teens and young adults have skewed visions of what a real and honest
marriage consists of. I have learned that: “93% of
Americans rate having a happy marriage as either important or very important
objectives, and the majority go on to view a happy marriage as one of their top
two goals in life.” Now, if this is truly the case then why is it that many
of the younger generations today don’t view marriage as one of their 'top two
goals in life'? This question can be answered in a simplistic manner. They have
other priorities in their life that are taking a higher ranking than the one of
marriage. Their views are not in line with the life that they are living. It
seems that most just want to live comfortable lives, with comfortable values,
instead of wanting to live their lives with one that has meaning or purpose;
and truly wanting to share in that together with a life-long companion.
There are a numerous amounts of
benefits that do come from being married. The main one that I am going to focus
on is the health benefits that become present in those individuals who are
married. First, individuals are less likely to suffer from long-term illnesses.
Second, is that there will be an increase in more survival rates from illness
which decreases mortality rates in the end. For women: 9 out of 10 will go on
to stay alive by the age of 48 and even up through the age of 65 years old. For
men: 9 out of 10 are healthier versus those who don’t marry, which is only 6
out of 10. Many individuals have significantly higher rates of being happier
with life amongst those who are married. It shows that their mental health
rates are higher, which in turn, affects the well being of your soul. That
matters a lot especially when people suffer (or are more pronged) to dealing
with depression. When you are depressed your health takes a great toll on your
body and it will affect your relationships, but your marriages even more
importantly. In the end, those who are healthier end up having a lower risk for
depression even if they don’t specifically suffer from it personally.
The Peer-Reviewed Journal Article
that I found on Marriage and Health Benefits said that: “This review focuses on
the pathway leading from the marital relationship to physical health. Evidence
from 64 articles published in the past decade, particularly marital interaction
studies, suggests that marital functioning is consequential for health;
negative dimensions of marital functioning have indirect influences on health
outcomes through depression and health habits, and direct influences on
cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, neurosensory, and other physiological
mechanisms. Moreover, individual difference variables such as trait hostility
augment the impact of marital processes on biological systems.” As I have now
learned, marriage and the lasting effects that it can have on individuals
is best explained through an overall physical satisfaction that they have from
an increase in their health. I believe that the health and the correlation that
is has with marriage is strongly connected. It truly does bring lasting
happiness and stronger ties and connections with your spouse.
I have found within my own marriage many things that can always use adjusting. But, I have been able to see that when my husband and I are really committed on taking care of our overall health and well being that our marriage is ten times stronger. When we are
each personally striving to take care of ourselves, together, our marriage as a
whole, is a stronger and more complete unit.
When we are working
towards those common goals we are less likely to have conflict and fighting. Not only do we see an increase in health
benefits, but also overall, we start to have a better sense of
satisfaction of where our life is taking us. Our future is brighter and we have a happy healthier marriage to last a lifetime. As we all strive
to be healthy and to work towards the same goals in our marriages, we are
learning how to work together and to accomplish anything within our own marriages.
My husband and I have made a goal together that we will strive to keep
ourselves healthy so that our marriage can stay positive. It really is quite
simple; when we are healthy we are happier.
Resource:
APA
Psyc Net, American Psychological Association
Article: Marriage
and health: His and hers.
Kiecolt-Glaser,
Janice K.; Newton, Tamara L.
Psychological
Bulletin, Vol 127(4), Jul 2001, 472-503.
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