Divorce has long been thought of as having detrimental effects on the health of people who experience it, but a new study emanating from the London School of Economics and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that divorcees are able to recover their health just fine. In fact, when looking at people who had remarried, health was identical to those of individuals, who were still with their original partners.
In a formal statement, researchers had this to say.
“Numerous studies have found that married people have better health than unmarried people. Previous research has also shown that men experience an initial decline after divorce, but we found that in the long term, they tend to revert back to their pre-divorce health status. Surprisingly, those men who divorced in their late 30s and did not subsequently remarry were less likely to suffer from conditions related to diabetes in early middle age compared to those who were married.”
Yahoo Health has summarized some of the key takeaways, but for our purposes, let’s look at why this rebound in health tends to be.
1. Divorce can lead to physical self-improvement.
It’s not uncommon for divorcees to refocus their health and wellness efforts, lose weight, gain muscle, and generally look and feel better about themselves. Whether motivated by self interests or a desire to find someone new, an improved physical version of the divorcee often emerges after six months to a year.
2. Divorce can lead to deeper analysis and understanding of what it means to be happy.
Divorcees often find themselves at a crossroads of introspection. While the event itself may make them unhappy and depressed in the short term, it can also trigger a willingness to redefine their hopes and dreams and find new determination for reaching their goals. Therefore, it isn’t uncommon to see divorcees make major life changes for the better a year or two after their marriages are over.
Obviously, this is great news for those of you going through a divorce now and hearing the antiquated horror stories about how you’ll “never be the same.” While it may be true that your life changes forever, those changes can ultimately prove to be the best things that have ever happened to you.