Stress reactions and relationships
For some, it won’t be news: a troubled marriage can make you sick - literally. A 10-year study at Indiana University measured stress reactions in people talking about conflict in their relationships. As you might expect, whatever makes your blood boil raises your heart rate, shortens your breath and makes you sweat - in other words, stresses you out.
The study was able to show a link between the intensity of the response in the person and reports both of general ill health and of dissatisfaction in their marriage. If you think the answer is divorce, however, think again. Other research has found high rates of acute illness (infectious diseases such as pneumonia) and chronic conditions - such as asthma, arthritis, eczema and migraine - in divorced men and women.
Learning to manage anger, communicate better and learn more about yourself can improve your chances of surviving a damaging relationship, even if the relationship itself is doomed.
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