My Family Coach: Women Discuss Life, Relationships & Parenting

7/28/08

Should Women Divorce?

Obviously there is not one answer to the question of whether women should seek divorce when they are unhappily married. Every situation is unique. But I think that the prevalence of divorce in American society has made the latter an "alternative" as opposed to a choice of last resort.

First of all, I will state at the outset that, in the case of abuse - whether emotional, physical or sexual - women need to seek the appropriate mental health counseling. Too often women have been told just to "be nicer" to their husbands and everything will be ok.

On the other hand, when there is no abuse present but poor marital relations, I will now go out on a limb and state that I think 1) most marriages can be saved and 2) most men and women can be happy in their marriages. These goals constitute an awesome, but not impossible, challenge.

Note that I am not talking about sacrifice here; I don't believe that women or men should martyr themselves. But learning to live within the limitations of one's life situation is the ultimate path to growth... and love.