Getting Married Makes You Feel Better
Lonely? Feeling low? Try taking a walk -- down the aisle. Getting married enhances mental health, especially if you're depressed, according to a new U.S. study. The benefits of marriage for the depressed are particularly dramatic, a finding that surprised the professor-student team behind the study.
Ref. https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060813/od_nm/life_marriage_dc
In my opinion, this study is was too non-specific to be helpful. There are too many variables when dealing with both depression and marriage. If a person is depressed because they are lonely, and if they find a spouse they are compatible with, then yes marriage will improve their depression. This is a lot of ifs and a lot depends on the personalities of the marriage partners, and on their compatibility. Good marriages are hard work and I feel this study promotes the myth that marriage will solve all our problems.
I'm not single so I guess I shouldn't have posted in this topic. I would delete it if I could.
Edited: Valla on 19th Aug, 2006 - 11:57pm
Personally, I think it's wrong to promote marriage as a cure for depression. How can you go out and find a compatible mate when you're depressed? Who wants to marry a depressed person? Perhaps being in a marriage is a great benefit to people suffering from depression, but I don't see how it can be a cure for those who are not already married.
I agree that it could happen...but I also agree that it is wrong to promote marriage in this way. The reason I say this is because of my own experience. I was depressed because I was stuck living in my mother's house in my 20's and I was desperate to get out. I thought that getting married would cure my depression. I settled for less than I should have, in every aspect. It was an abusive marriage and the worst mistake I ever made. However, it is a mistake I definitely learned from. If I had taken the time to find someone truly suitable for myself, then the outcome might have been different.