How long does it take to recover from Gray Divorce? Maybe never…
Wednesday, March 13, 2024. For KAM.
We’ve been watching the phenomenon of Gray Divorce for a while now…
Recovering emotionally from a late-life divorce may take from 1 to 4 years, according to a new study from Finland.
Indeed, this research suggests that for those over 50, so-called ‘gray divorces’… a complete recovery may never come…
Women are particularly negatively impacted after a divorce or breakup, as reflected in their antidepressant use, according to a well-designed, substantive, long-term study from Finland.
While both men and women tend to increase their antidepressant use before and after they divorce, it is women’s use that is consistently and measurably higher.
Entering into another intimate relationship after divorce was linked to slightly reduced antidepressant use, but the beneficial effect was remarkably short-lived in women…
The study’s authors write:
“The greater increases in [antidepressant] use associated with union dissolution among women in our study may indeed relate to the fact that the costs of union dissolution on mental health fall more heavily on women than men.
The smaller declines in [antidepressant] use associated with re-partnering in women than in men may be related to the explanations that marriage benefits men’s mental health to a greater extent than women’s, and older men are more likely than women to seek emotional support from re-partnering.
In addition, women may take greater responsibilities to manage interpersonal relationships between the blended families, such as those with the partner’s children, which could undermine their mental health.
How the study was conducted…
The researchers tracked over 200,000 people aged 50-70 in Finland who had lost their partners.
Their antidepressant patterns post-divorce, breakup, or bereavement were analyzed.
The results showed that antidepressant use surged before and after these events and remained elevated afterward, especially in women.
Men more often re-partnered after bereavement or breakup, with no apparent sex differences after divorce.
Women’s breakups triggered a significant rise in antidepressant use, persisting beyond the first year, whereas men’s use was not as high.
The study’s authors wrote:
“The partial recovery and the continuous increase in AD [antidepressant] use appear to support the marital resource model which instead suggests that losing the partner may bring stressful changes in life circumstances (e.g., decreased household income, loss of social support) that persist or accumulate over time.”
Divorce late in life is a hard row to hoe. Try science-based couples therapy instead. I can help with that.
Be well, Stay kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Hu Y, Metsä-Simola N, Malmberg S, et alTrajectories of antidepressant use before and after union dissolution and re-partnering in later life: a prospective total population register-based cohort studyJ Epidemiol Community Health Published Online First: 06 February 2024. doi: 10.1136/jech-2023-221529
