In October 2007, CBC news reported that research, conducted in part by the University College in London, United Kingdom, concluded that stress associated with poor marriages increased the likelihood of a heart attack or other heart trouble in both male and female subjects by as much as 34 per cent over the 12-year life of the study.

In other research, Ohio State University staff inflicted blister wounds on one member of a couple. They found that when couples argued the wounds healed at 60 per cent the rate of wounds in couples that exhibited lower-hostility behaviour.

The American Diabetes Association has even suggested stress related to poor relationships aggravates diabetes for those afflicted with that disease.

The health impact of poor relationships isn’t limited to physical health.

A Statistics Canada study released in 2007 found that men were 6 times more likely to have an episode of depression in the two years following a divorce than men who stayed married. Women were 3.5 times more likely to be depressed than women whose relationship succeeded. A “sizeable minority” of these people who experienced depression said it was still a problem four years after the break-up.

Your relationships provide the context and structure that your whole life falls inside of. They affect your finances, your career, your love-life and your well-being. It’s energic.

The quality of your relationships are every bit as important to your physical and emotional well-being as eating right, exercising and enjoying life. Science is starting to recognize this, and it’s only a matter of time before “relationship consciousness” is a mainstay of personal and professional wellness programs.

That’s an important reason Donna and I do what we do. Our “Divine Dance of the Sexes” Workshop positively affects people’s lives, relationships and well-being on so many levels.

We’re glad to offer men and women something fresh and new. Simply understanding your partner for who they are as a man or a woman takes away a lot of the guesswork and the stress that is so destructive.

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment. Take care.