8574958 1

Divorce
Divorce can hurt you financially, physically with your health and hurt your children.
Writer Olivia Timbs says, A staggering 40 percent of marriages are now doomed to end in
divorce, despite the bad press: divorce is bad for your health, bad for your purse and particularly
bad for your children (Timbs). It is apparent that divorce ruins your life. Timbs also states that
Any couple locked in a violent relationship would be better off without each other. But for the
vast majority of couples with children, divorce will bring a whole new set of problems (Timbs).
It is better to resolve your problems at first than to create new ones. Families in the process of
divorce cause harm to the living situation because kids are impacted, your financial well-being
degenerates, and family members health may worsen.
Divorce impacts children in some of the worst ways. They are heartbroken by their parents
splitting. According to Sangster, writer and editor for New York Times, Divorce strikes a cruel
blow at the happiness of childhood, and inflicts an unmerited reproach upon little ones who were
called into the world by fathers and mothers whose self-will no longer permits them to live
together in peace (Sangster). The outcome is the children of the divorced couple will be highly
impacted by the divorce and the children will be forced to make a hard decision and choose.
Their happiness is interrupted and cant do anything about it.
The relationship between the parent and child will be affected in a negative way. As Emery,
professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, stated, Divorce also can strain parentchild relationships, lead to lost contact with one parent, create economic hardships, and increase
conflict between parents (including legal conflicts) (Emery). If a child decides to stay with
1

8574958 2

his/her mother, they may not be able to have direct contact with their father and a negative
impact can be forced on their relationship. These factors contribute to a strained relationship
between the parent and the child. It can cause confusion and problems in both of their lives.
Divorce can cause a negative change in a child's behavior. This can make life hard for both the
parents and child. According to Emery, children, mainly those who are problematic, tend to
evolve issues with disobedience, anger and rule violations. Their work in school can also regress
(Emery). The effect is the behavior of the child changes negatively because of divorce.
Pickhardt, a psychologist in private counseling and author, states that The more independentminded adolescent tends to deal more aggressively to divorce, often reacting in a mad, rebellious
way, more resolved to disregard family discipline and take care of himself since parents have
failed to keep commitments to family that were originally made (Pickhardt). In conclusion, the
child changes his/her behavior completely making it hard to control him.
A side effect of divorce includes your financial well-being degenerating. As Wall, co-founder of
WIFE.org and originator of What Women Need to Know About Divorce stated, Expenses will
begin to mushroom as soon as the divorce process starts. Legal fees, court costs, therapist bills,
new living expenses, and myriad other costs will drain your financial resources (Wall). The
result is you will be losing both the love of your life and your money.
Distributing property and finances during divorce is one of the hardest parts. According to
Deborah Fowles, author of the article Financial Issues When Divorcing, most couples who are
going through a divorce cant agree on agree on financial issues and it usually ends up in the
court. The judge is careless about the emotions most of the time and do what they think is right
no matter what you think (Fowles). The outcome is you most likely wont get things you want.
You will end up unhappy in the long run and have went through trouble.
2

8574958 3

Divorce can stress you out so much you may forget about important things like your credit.
Fowles also states that It is very easy to let your credit rating deteriorate during a divorce. You
might not think maintaining or establishing a good credit rating in your name is very important,
you will one day find out exactly how important it is to your financial well-being (Fowles). It
can be seen that divorce can ruin your credit and it is important to maintain good credit.
The repercussions of divorce may include family members health worsen. The authors of
The Health Effects of Divorce Can Be Both Detrimental and Beneficial, Palmer and Buit, says
that according to the Harvard Medical School, divorced men have a 37% chance higher than
married men. Studies also show that stress causes inflammation, which is a risk for cardiac
problems. With that being said, men who have went through divorce have higher risk of
inflammatory markers than married men (Palmer & Buit). It is apparent that divorce can cause
life threatening health conditions. As Figure 1 shows, divorce causes health problems in women
just as bad as it does in men. It can cause chronic health problems and mobility limitations in
over 15% of divorced women over married women.

8574958 4

Health problems that tag along with divorce include psychological problems, mostly in
women. According to Campbell, author of "Psychological Effects of Divorce on Women,"
divorce may be overwhelming for both people going through it but women may take it harder.
Their envisions they have had with their ex-husband are now washed down the drain. Once they
have time to realize that, they tend to fall into depression (Campbell). She also says that guilt
takes a big part in women that suffer depression due to divorce. Women can go through a number
of effects while going through a divorce but guilt is the main one, mainly because they feel they
are the cause of the divorce. If children are involved, it makes it worse which can cause
emotional trauma (Campbell). It can be seen that divorce can put an extreme emotional and
psychological toll on women.
4

8574958 5

Divorce can affect physical health problems like your weight. As it states in The Health
Effects of Divorce Can Be Both Detrimental and Beneficial, Divorce also alters lifestyle habits
and behaviors that may adversely affect health. Researchers from Ohio State University found
that, two years after a divorce, separated partners tended to be heavier as compared to couples
who remained married, although men showed larger weight gains than women (The Health
Effects of Divorce Can Be Both Detrimental and Beneficial). This demonstrates that your
weight could be highly impacted.
Many other sources, however, argue that divorce is a good thing and creates happiness
and relief to the family. Certified divorce coach Cathy Meyer argues, If sex is high on your list
of marital priorities but is low on hers, you have no moral obligation to remain married to
someone who is withholding that intimate connection (Meyer). What she means is its better to
be divorced than to be with someone who doesnt uphold the same views as you. This view
seems persuasive at first, but marriages arent always based on sex. If two people are really in
love then they see more in each other than just sex.
Not knowing anything about your spouse in a marriage is bad. Meyer argues that if you
and your spouse have to very different expectations from marriage, maybe you too shouldn't be
together. If you know it's impossible for you guys to meet in the middle and you will end up
being unhappy then divorce will be the best option (Meyer). While this point may make sense at
first, the author is off base because people dont rush into marriage. They spend time getting to
know each other so this problem doesnt happen.
Yes, its true that marriages can involve arguing and maybe fighting. Writer Tejeda states
that Parents are people tooand like all people, they make mistakes. If there were unhealthy
things in their marriage (fighting, cheating, abuse), divorce can end up providing a much more
5

8574958 6

stable home environment for them and you. Just think about all the toxicity that will vanish once
the dust settles (Tejeda). What this argument fails to consider is counseling. A lot of married
couples go through thing because, as Tejeda says, people make mistakes. But sitting down in
front of a professional mediator, two people can understand each others differences and learn
how to live with it. Divorce isnt always the answer.
Families in the process of divorce cause harm to the living situation because kids are
impacted, your financial wellbeing degenerates, and family members health may worsen. In the
past, divorce wasnt common. Families learned to stick together and work out their problems.
But today, many families are giving up and destroying what they worked so hard to create. In the
future, families should learn to stick together through thick and thin and not get married unless
they know for sure if they will stay married. The downfall of your health, children's well-being
and your financial state is not worth it.

Works Cited
Campbell, Ashlea. "Psychological Effects of Divorce on Women." LIVESTRONG.COM.
LIVESTRONG.COM, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.livestrong.com/article/103381-psychological-effects-divorce-women/>.
6

8574958 7

Emery, Robert. "The Truth about Children and Divorce." Emery on Divorce. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
<http://emeryondivorce.com/how_divorce_affects_children.php>.
"Financial Issues When Divorcing." DIVORCE HQ. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.divorcehq.com/divorce-financial-issues.shtml>.
Fowles, Deborah. "Financial Issues of Divorce." Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Meyer, Cathy. "Divorce: A List Of Pros And Cons." Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
<http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/isdivorcethesolution/fl/Divorce-A-List-Of-Pros-AndCons.htm>.
Palmer, Rebecca, and Crystal Buit. "The Health Effects of Divorce Can Be Both Detrimental and
Beneficial." The Health Effects of Divorce Can Be Both Detrimental and Beneficial. Web. 15
Apr. 2015. <http://www.lowndes-law.com/news-center/1210-the-health-effects-divorce-can-beboth-detrimental-beneficial>.
Pickhardt, Carl E. "The Impact of Divorce on Young Children and Adolescents." Psychology
Today. Carl E. Pickhardt, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Tejeda, Valerie. "The Positive Side of Your Parents' Divorce." Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.teenvogue.com/advice/family-advice/2014-05/divorce>.
Timbs, Olivia. The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/divorce-is-bad-for-you-try-again-many-couples-give-upon-marriage-without-considering-the-likely-traumas-they-should-find-an-amicable-way-toremain-partners-at-least-until-the-children-are-independent-says-olivia-timbs-1548687.html>.

8574958 8

Wall, Ginita. "The Twelve Financial Pitfalls of Divorce." Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.wife.org/12-financial-pitfalls-of-divorce.htm>.
"Why Divorce Is Bad." Family in Society: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 49-52. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.