Health and Body - Experts and Resources

Children, Depression And Their Parents Divorce

Posted to by Amanda Lockhart on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:54pm

It’s not surprising when children of divorced parents end up having behavioral problems. But a study that was published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry says there may be one underlying reason for both the parents’ divorce and the children’s behavior issues: heredity.

Without getting into the methodology of the study, the basic finding was that parents who are genetically prone to being unhappy in their marriages are more likely to have children who experience depression and anxiety. So could it be that it's not the divorce that’s so tough on the kids, rather it's the genes?

Of course, there’s a bit of a “chicken and the egg” here. Did the kids’ depression surface before or after the divorce happened? In some cases, the kids’ issues started before the parents actually split up, but there was already tension in the marriage.

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Has Divorce Ruined Your Post-Divorce Sex Life?

Posted to by Amanda Lockhart on Sat, 12/04/2010 - 11:50am

So here's a question for those of you who've been through a divorce: How did things go the first time you got intimate with some else the second time around?

I'm sure we can all have a long conversation about that topic. I saw a letter to a sex columnist that raised this issue, and it was interesting to me because it came from the male perspective. The writer was a 35-year-old divorced "bloke" (it was in a British publication) who said his girlfriend left him because he couldn't keep an erection.

For the moment, we'll look past the fact that this must not have been much of a relationship if that was really the reason she left him. The guy is wondering if the remaining emotional weight of his divorce is somehow making it tough on him in bed.

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Study Shows Some Men Have A Genetic Disposition Towards Cheating

Fidelity Gene linked to risk of marital discord and divorce

Posted to by Jill Brooke on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 7:42am

Along with qualities like “devoted,” “adventurous,” “successful,” and “cute,” the checklist of women deciding what they want in a man may now include “the fidelity gene.”

A study by a behavioral geneticist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockhom confirmed what we already knew — when it comes to monogamy, it’s not about us, it’s about them.

Some guys, well, can't help themselves. You can blame the genes when he can't keep it in his jeans.

The gene in question controls the number and location of vasopressin receptors in the brain. Vasopressin is a hormone secreted during sexual activity that increases the likelihood of pair bonding.

One allele, or alternate form of a gene, and there are fewer vasopressin receptors. Two alleles and there are way fewer vasopressin receptors.

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Does Menopause Makes Us More Prone To Divorce?

Neurologist says we get more independent as we age

Posted to by Amanda Lockhart on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 3:43pm

Whenever I hear about a couple that divorces later in life, the first question that always pops into my head is, what happened?

Of course, we're all aware of the proverbial mid-life crisis when it comes to men, whereby (sometimes) our STBXH's end up spending the retirement we worked so hard to build up for so many years on some long-nosed, fire-red sports car (which for all intents and purposes is simply a penis extension) in order to attract any and every OW ("other woman") they can possibly get their hands on to relive some child-hood dream they feel they'd been robbed of.

Clearly, that's the cliche'd version of a man's mid-life crisis; men sometimes do have real reasons to leave.

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Learning From Your Divorce To Avoid Making The Same Mistakes Moving Forward

Avoiding Rebound Relationships

Posted to by Amanda Lockhart on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 10:59am

Change. Huge word, especially when it comes to divorce; even more so when it comes to moving beyond divorce.

Some of us embrace change without a second thought, others go kicking, screaming and dragging our nails down the hallways of this new life we're about to embark on.

Some see divorce as an opportunity to rekindle all of those dreams we shelved when we got married, dreams like travelling to far away places, maybe adopting children, starting a career or maybe even becoming an artist. Others need time; time to think, time to look back, time to study what went wrong in order to move forward. And it's through this introspection and self analysis that we learn the most about ourselves, particularly when it comes to finding a new mate, post-divorce.

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Holding Your Anger Can Make You Sick

Why you gotta let it out and express yourself before, during and after divorce

Posted to by Katherine McKee on Thu, 10/28/2010 - 5:32am

The findings of a 10-year study reveal that women who force themselves to remain calm during fights with their spouses are at a higher risk of death and have a higher incidence of stress-related diseases like depression and irritable bowel syndrome.

In fact, women who "self-silence" were four times more likely to die than women who let it all out during arguments, according to the research conducted by Dr. Elaine D. Eaker of Eaker Epidemiology Enterprises in Gaithersburg, Md.

In my opinion, this research seems to prove what many women already know: You just gotta let it out! Why keep it all in? Express yourself to your spouse, partner, ex, kids if you're having marital trouble, and especially when you're going through divorce.

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What Rihanna Could Learn From Tina Turner

Posted to by Jill Brooke on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 9:56am

Rihanna needs to have a talk with Tina Turner.

A generation ago, Turner left her abusive husband, Ike Turner, and not only survived, but thrived. Indeed, in songs such as “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”, Turner was able to carve out a new future for herself as well as a stable relationship that has endured over 20 years. Her story also became a cautionary tale for other women and created a national dialogue on the realities of domestic abuse.

Rihanna’s problems are clearly deep-rooted, as are those of most abuse victims. As former special crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein recently said, the reasons women stay with those that hit and beat them are not always understandable. But it seems that the outpouring of anger towards Rihanna’s boyfriend Chris Brown may be shaking her from a stupor.

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