Is Your Marriage Killing You?
Are you going to die because of
The Broken Heart Syndrome?
Our culture has instilled in every little girl that her dreams will come true and she will finally be safe when Prince Charming puts that ring on her finger and she becomes a Mrs.
We all know that life and marriage doesn’t always work out like the story books we were read as kids. In fact, it more closely resembles a sad country song then anything else; heartbreaks, headaches, and hangovers.
But It’s more serious then that.
It’s a matter of life or death.
A bad marriage really could lead to a broken heart. New research suggests how marriage quality affects cardiovascular health. A study by US researchers found older couples who are in an unhappy marriage have a higher risk of heart disease than those in a happy marriage. To add insult to injury, they found that husbands and wives being overly critical or demanding, had a bigger effect on heart health than positive marital quality, such as spouses being supportive.
“In other words,” the research said, “a bad marriage is more harmful to your heart health than a good marriage is beneficial.”
To all who may need to figure some shit out!
I challenge you to “The Five Day Test.”
1. Grab one piece of paper and make five vertical lines for five days and label dates.
2. Draw a horizontal line across the middle.
3. Top half mark: POSITIVE. Bottom half mark: NEGATIVE
4. Put an X for every comment in the correct section for the full five days. Say nothing to your partner about doing this.
5. After day five, add up the totals for each day of the positive and negative x’s.
6. Look at them carefully.
I would love to have you share your findings as we continue to share ways to start a dialogue about the results.
