Click here to visit the new home of that's fit!

Hot on HuffPost Healthy Living:

AOL.com
MAIL

En Español

That's Fit

Send Feedback

Depressed? Try Marriage

Posted on Aug 23rd 2006 4:00PM by Karen Walrond

Filed Under: Motivation

From United Press International: Feeling a bit down? Turns out that marriage might be a viable cure -- researchers have recently found that "depressed singles receive greater psychological benefits from getting married than do those who are not depressed."

Adrianne Frech, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in sociology at Ohio State University, said "We thought depressed people would be less likely to benefit from marriage because the depression of one spouse can put a strain on the marriage and undermine marital quality. We actually found the opposite of what we expected."

Hmm. Looks like I officially have an argument for all my single friends who cite "marriage is depressing" as their top reason for not settling down.

(Via Lime.)

Source

2 Comment

Around the Web

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Gabe Little 8-24-2006 @ 11:03AM

Tried it... It didn't quite work out as planned. Actually, I was happy before marriage, got married, got depressed, got divorced, got happy again! :-)

bottleman 8-24-2006 @ 5:08PM

I wonder what time frame they were looking at -- the UPI article doesn't really say. 'Cause marriage is a long term thing and there's plenty of time to be up, down, repressed, impressed, distressed, upside down and inside out.

On one hand the act of getting married is a pretty solemn ceremony -- despite the chicken dance antics at the reception. It's a rite of passage that could really change a depressed person's perspective for a year or two; they could feel involved, directed, new, secure.

On the other hand the "responsibilities" that tend to come along with marriage -- real estate, the rut of daily cohabitation, etc. -- can really weigh a person down. Not to mention the fact that spouses change over the years. I think a lot of people are stuck in a situation where they feel boxed in by all those commitments, and yet are not satisfied with their lives. It takes an act of supreme bravery to try to change all that -- something that takes some people years to work up to.

In the meantime depression is one place to bide one's time. It's not fancy, but its dim comforts are somehow enough to discourage escape.