For the first time in the 6 years of my marriage, I am actually considering divorce very seriously. I have everything in place but I'm just so scared of missing him and can't pull the trigger.
The older generation seem to be of the sentiment that divorce has become so common nowadays, because we don't really try at it and give up too easily. I keep questioning my relationship and wondering if a woman would really have put up with all of this and seen it through to the end.
I'm beginning to realize that perhaps divorce is common because it is so necessary. I can't imagine that divorce could feel so much worse than being in a marriage that is on the constant verge of divorce.
I love my husband but he is leading me on a path to destruction - and he's going, with or without me.
@journalwife: I'm so sorry.
I can say this - if you do divorce, you will miss him. It will be strange not having him around. But eventually you will adapt, and it will soon start to seem like it was another life altogether.
Feh. I'm much healthier after my divorce. It was amazing, how much less stressed I was, after not having to tip-toe through the tulips around a guy who lost his temper at *every little thing* and was "handy" about it to boot ... nor do I have to worry about being beaten up anymore. LOL. I also eat much better, because I'm not catering to someone who despises "rabbit food" and considers things like vegetables to be "wog food" (and made his point, if I dared to serve it up, by throwing the plate across the room). So, no. Maybe some people are make ill by their divoce ... but I'll bet there are a lot of us who had the exact opposite reaction.
About the topic. Getting a divorce actually improved my health, primarily because I quit abusing drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms. The only time we got along was when we were both smashed and high, and so I was drinking until I passed out almost every night of the week. That is not good for one's health.
The other thing was that, while the actual divorce was a lot of stress, it was nothing compared to the stress I felt as a regular part of my day to day life. Leaving him meant feeling like I could truly relax for the first time in years.
I'm healthier now than I've ever been, and I know it would not have been possible had I stayed married.
I'll take my chances with divorce, too. After 5 weeks of marriage, I realized that nothing good was going to come out of it--my soon to be ex-husband lies, drinks, and is financially irresponsible to the point of pathology. I know that folks tend to "relax" somewhat after marriage , but this is ridiculous.
So, I'm selling my house, moving away, and am off to Buenos Aires in the spring to learn how to do the tango. Life is about enjoyment, and I realized sooner rather than later that I backed the wrong pony when I married this dude.
I can't imagine how this new sense of freedom and hope for my own future isn't preferable to staying in a sham of a marriage with a man who was trying to pull me down with him. But then again, I don't know what he'd have to say about this. I suspect that, for him, divorce will be a negative.
@whynotshesaid: Oyeah. If the sex hadn't been so good, it would have been two. But the sexytimes just couldn't make up for the fact I was slowly being eaten alive, financially and emotionally. Yay, divorce!
Isn't the fact that the study was conducted among 50 and 60 year-olds a major aspect in the results? I mean, considering that overall, our health's quality diminishes as we grow old, isn't it obvious that major stressors in life affect our health more when they happen later in life? My grandmother would be the first to tell you that when her first husband died wasn't so terrible for her as when her second husband did. Major relationship aspects aside, she herself thought it was obvious that something that happened in her mid 30s was something she could overcome quicker than something that happened in her early 70s.
@Penny: Sounds like my life! Maybe not so much pizza, and Peep Show marathons instead of funny movies, but yeah.
Hey, I've survived TWO divorces. I'm scarred, but still standing.
Methinks people would have a higher view of modern science if it looked like it was actually trying to accomplish something that really led to the betterment of humanity and social progress - say, curing cancer/AIDS, or getting a mission to Mars underway. Instead of just unnecessary studies about every little thing under the Sun.
Of course, maybe I shouldn't blame scientists. With 8 years of an administration actively opposed to any sort of scientific progress, especially should it upset the blastocyst-worshippers, it's not like they really could get that much done, and those who wanted to were forced to leave for other countries that had their priorities straighter. Maybe now that we have Obama, things will get back off the ground?
@Erda: You think no one's out there studying cancer, AIDS, and space? Seriously? Just remember that what media sources print is representative of what they think is interesting, and not representative of what is actually being studied. Even when they report things they get it wrong.
@Erda: I know A LOT of researchers that work tirelessly doing cancer research, AIDS research, and are involved in space studies. But the media that covers this is mostly geared toward science enthusiasts (example: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-aids-vaccine-search-goes-on... ).
Science reporting is done in such a crappy way that the news that end up arriving to the regular public are a misinformed and deformed version of what the actual researchers did and discovered.
There are efforts by a multitude of science writers and researchers to explain to the public what's going on in current research as well as basic concepts that help understand the current challenges better. But, again, these things are not publicized by regular media.
Most of the blogs geared towards science reporting by scientists, doctors, and science writers are under science-enthusiast magazines online. SEED has scienceblogs, Scientific American has the magazine online, and Discover magazine has blogs as well.
Perhaps I did come off a bit stronger than I intended, and I know people are working on cancer/AIDS research and space exploration. However, it does seem like some of the effort we spend on more inane studies could be diverted to more important stuff.
I read a recent Nature article that talked about how scientists are afraid to apply for grants that are "risky" (which to us is more "pure sciencey"), because it is more likely that they will be rejected, and as a result people apply for studies that seem more trifling like "does this medically link to this?" (obesity, diabetes, cancer, aging, etc.) rather than testing a potential cancer treatment drug that may or may not pan out. Such studies are often accepted for funding on the first try, whereas everything else gets rejected a lot. This problem is ESPECIALLY bad in England, and especially for chemists. Boo.
America's highest achievement, and most innovative product is "the generation of wealth through the commoditization of debt" - which really proved to be pseudoscience. OH NOES!
Maybe us wimmins would look more favorably upon science if it didn't keep trying to make sweeping generalizations about every little bit behavior, minor personality trait, or what-have-you that can be drawn up in a quick study and then misinterpreted. But what do I know, I spent three hours trying to decide which shoes to wear this morning.
@Bitcherina: Someone earlier commented that scientific studies are often taken out of context for cheap media sound bites to generate sensational headlines, I think that's exactly what you're referring to in your complaints about science. That's simply out of the realm of our control.
My graduate school adviser is a woman. Her graduate school adviser is a woman. All the traits and characteristics that are usually associated with women work just as well as typical male characteristics in science.
I personally prefer working for a woman because most female PIs I've known are more caring and empathetic when things don't work, which is most of the time in science. They are also happy to talk about things other than work and more often than not they have more humane working hours for people with families.
@Bitcherina: It is the media that abuses science to make sweeping claims. Science research is necessary and it is frightening how divided the field is.
It seems like science is becoming more and more specialized, and it becomes more difficult to see the bigger picture. It also becomes more and more difficult for people outside of your realm of specialty to really understand what you are doing and why it is exciting/intresting/important/whatnot.
My favorite line about science has got to be Patton Oswalts' motto, "Science: We're all about coulda, not shoulda!" That being said, science is great when it's ethical.
Considering that historically and currently women are far less welcome to participate in science, and regarded as less valuable than their male peers when they do, it's no surprise that many women end up thinking science aint so great. However, for me personally... well, Science, I just can't seem to quit you.
Maybe women in non-scientific fields are less impressed with "science" because it no longer seems to be about innovation and wonder (polio vaccines, space travel) and is instead used merely as a source for cheap media sound bites telling us 1) we're too fat and we're gonna die! and 2) dudes can't help cheating, it's their evolutionary strategy! If all I knew about science was the snippets of studies (often taken out of context) which are used to reinforce existing biases, I'd take a pretty dim view of it as well.
@angela-la-la: Dude, that's not science. That's the media. I don't know much that actual scientists can do to prevent media outlets from making broad and baseless claims on the basis of potentially interesting research.
I mean, scientists say - we have found a way to extend the lives of mice, though there are side-effects and drawbacks, and this is not yet applicable to humans. Media says - Anti-aging pill coming soon?? Read here now!!!
Though I can see how the average laywoman could perceive those messages as coming from science, for sure. But still, it bugs me to see science tarnished by people who are distorting the real message.
@angela-la-la: That really is a problem with media reporting, not scientific achievement. Most reporters assigned to science beats don't, I expect, have any training in the hard sciences and don't understand how to properly report them. They think they are giving the public information on the junk studies they want. Write to the publications you read and request more info on studies you know have recently been published (scienceblogs.com is a quick, blog-based source to start).
08/05/09
The older generation seem to be of the sentiment that divorce has become so common nowadays, because we don't really try at it and give up too easily. I keep questioning my relationship and wondering if a woman would really have put up with all of this and seen it through to the end.
I'm beginning to realize that perhaps divorce is common because it is so necessary. I can't imagine that divorce could feel so much worse than being in a marriage that is on the constant verge of divorce.
I love my husband but he is leading me on a path to destruction - and he's going, with or without me.
08/05/09
I can say this - if you do divorce, you will miss him. It will be strange not having him around. But eventually you will adapt, and it will soon start to seem like it was another life altogether.
08/04/09
08/05/09
08/04/09
About the topic. Getting a divorce actually improved my health, primarily because I quit abusing drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms. The only time we got along was when we were both smashed and high, and so I was drinking until I passed out almost every night of the week. That is not good for one's health.
The other thing was that, while the actual divorce was a lot of stress, it was nothing compared to the stress I felt as a regular part of my day to day life. Leaving him meant feeling like I could truly relax for the first time in years.
I'm healthier now than I've ever been, and I know it would not have been possible had I stayed married.
08/04/09
So, I'm selling my house, moving away, and am off to Buenos Aires in the spring to learn how to do the tango. Life is about enjoyment, and I realized sooner rather than later that I backed the wrong pony when I married this dude.
I can't imagine how this new sense of freedom and hope for my own future isn't preferable to staying in a sham of a marriage with a man who was trying to pull me down with him. But then again, I don't know what he'd have to say about this. I suspect that, for him, divorce will be a negative.
08/04/09
08/04/09
08/04/09
08/04/09
08/04/09
And remember that statistics are only just that: statistics. Figure shit out for yourself.
08/04/09
08/04/09
Masturbate. Eat pizza. Drink wine. Watch funny movies. Repeat.
08/04/09
08/04/09
08/04/09
Hey, I've survived TWO divorces. I'm scarred, but still standing.
07/11/09
Of course, maybe I shouldn't blame scientists. With 8 years of an administration actively opposed to any sort of scientific progress, especially should it upset the blastocyst-worshippers, it's not like they really could get that much done, and those who wanted to were forced to leave for other countries that had their priorities straighter. Maybe now that we have Obama, things will get back off the ground?
07/11/09
07/11/09
Science reporting is done in such a crappy way that the news that end up arriving to the regular public are a misinformed and deformed version of what the actual researchers did and discovered.
There are efforts by a multitude of science writers and researchers to explain to the public what's going on in current research as well as basic concepts that help understand the current challenges better. But, again, these things are not publicized by regular media.
Most of the blogs geared towards science reporting by scientists, doctors, and science writers are under science-enthusiast magazines online. SEED has scienceblogs, Scientific American has the magazine online, and Discover magazine has blogs as well.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/
http://scienceblogs.com/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/
07/12/09
Perhaps I did come off a bit stronger than I intended, and I know people are working on cancer/AIDS research and space exploration. However, it does seem like some of the effort we spend on more inane studies could be diverted to more important stuff.
07/10/09
07/11/09
07/10/09
07/10/09
07/10/09
My graduate school adviser is a woman. Her graduate school adviser is a woman. All the traits and characteristics that are usually associated with women work just as well as typical male characteristics in science.
I personally prefer working for a woman because most female PIs I've known are more caring and empathetic when things don't work, which is most of the time in science. They are also happy to talk about things other than work and more often than not they have more humane working hours for people with families.
07/10/09
07/11/09
07/10/09
07/10/09
07/10/09
07/10/09
07/10/09
I mean, scientists say - we have found a way to extend the lives of mice, though there are side-effects and drawbacks, and this is not yet applicable to humans. Media says - Anti-aging pill coming soon?? Read here now!!!
Though I can see how the average laywoman could perceive those messages as coming from science, for sure. But still, it bugs me to see science tarnished by people who are distorting the real message.
07/11/09