When it comes to the image of men in divorce the perceptions is far from reality. What we envision is that all men going through divorce dump wife number one for a hotter, younger version in wife number two. We see this in every Hollywood story but the fact is that movies and Hollywood are far from real life. The truth is that most marriages end not because the man has decided the marriage is over but in fact the woman. Two-thirds of all divorces in the United States are initiated by women.
The truth is that divorce often hits men far worse than women. They are emotionally unprepared and the support for men going through a divorce is far from what is available to women. Yes, the truth is that most men fare better financially in the process however when it comes to the emotional toll men are hit harder than the portrayed images we have comes to see.
Men often take the marital failure personally and believe that they should have been able to fix it before it became unglued. Fixers by nature, men have a difficult time admitting defeat. Divorce is often seen as defeat. Many men also don’t seek the emotional support that is needed with everything that divorce throws at them. They are under the illusion that support makes them seem vulnerable and week and therefore tend to take internalize the pain. This leads many into self abuse such as drinking and drugs to cope.
Men don’t handle being alone. The statistics show that after divorce men are more than eight times more likely to take their lives than their female counter parts. After divorce men that are alone often suffer from depression and typically end up in a new relationship; often times a relationship that is doomed from the beginning because it is only based on them not wanting to be alone.
When it comes to men going through divorce there is a stigma that comes with it; a code of masculinity. This stigma comes with divorce, being fired from a job and any situation that is seen as failure to a man. Thankfully many men do hit a point that they understand that the only way to move forward it to seek out support and counseling.
I have talked with many men after getting emotional help to allow them to move forward in their lives after divorce. A majority of men start to understand what their marriages were missing and gain the knowledge to correct the problem. Men often feel that if they would have had this emotional support in place before the divorce that more likely than not they would have been more apt to work with their spouse to save their marriages.
We often don’t realize it isn’t what we are giving it is what we are withholding that keeps us on the same page with our spouse. Men see this through the emotional grieving process. It is not the income they provide, the big house, the nice car but instead the attention their family craved that would have saved their marriages.
Longton DM, a subsidiary of Longton Law Offices is a divorce attorney specializing in Men/Dad’s in divorce. For experienced representation throughout the divorce process in Trenton, Michigan and the surrounding area you can find more information at http://www.michigandivorcelawyerfordad.com.