When two people fall in love and feel their bliss seems endless, they’ll later decide to tie the knot and vow to be together in sickness and in health. Now here’s the thing, a recent study confirmed that most married couples encounter difficulties in committing to that particular vow once the sickness factor affects husband and wife, The findings should serve as a wake up call for young couples to give particular importance to the “in health” aspect, by keeping fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in order to strengthen the foundation of their marriage.

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The study was conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Michigan College of Medicine which delved on how married couples cope in situations where both individuals are older and suffering chronic health disorders. Their findings indicated that the demands of having to care for a sick partner and at the same time attend to one’s own health issues could affect mental health. In the research study, the results showed that the related mental stress caused feelings of depression. .

According to the study, depression symptoms tend to increase over time among married couples when both husband and wife have to deal with two or more chronic illnesses; such as heart diseases, diabetes that comes with persistent occurrences of related nerve pain. Since those situations will require different types of self-care amd medications, including the need to stay under a special diet, the limitations to lifestyle, the pain and anxieties felt, will put a great strain on their mental health.

These new findings were gathered by the University of Michigan’s research team using data collected from a long-term study conducted between 2006 and 2014, and involving more than 1,110 older married couples comprised by opposite sexes. The research report was published in December 2019 in the Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences section of the Journals of Gerontology Series B.

The Main Importance of the Research Report

The main importance of the study is that it underscores the need for middle-aged and older married people to mind the factors that could affect their health as they get older. What older couples need to understand is that there are some health conditions that they can control and some that they cannot. In the event that they start feeling the symptoms of a health disorder, they also need to discuss their individual health concerns not only with each other but also to their grown children and their physician.

It is common for some spouses to keep their health problems to themselves so as not to give their significant other and their children cause for worry. However, as this practice can only lead to both physical and mental deteriorations, the situation will make it harder for a husband or wife to cope in managing his or her illness and that of a sick spouse.

In communicating early symptoms, the demands of caring for one another in sickness and in health will receive adequate assistance and support from other members of the family and from health care providers. Moreover, the rest of the family members will have greater awareness of any signs of depression in both or either of the two couples. Early detection, after all, can help in addressing the mental health problem before its consequences take a turn for the worse.