Healthy Relationships

For all those women out there who despair of being single, new research has actually shown that as a result, you will most likely be healthier and live longer than your married counterparts. For years it has been widely accepted that married people had better social contacts and more social activities producing a healthier lifestyle overall, but perhaps wedded bliss is not everything its cracked up to be?

Whether marriage increases your stress levels as you worry about your partner or alters your workload as you pitch in with perhaps more than your fair share of the housework, I don’t know. What the statistics do show however, is that spinsters, widows and divorcees are not shrinking violets with but half a life to call their own. They are living balanced lives amongst their peers and they are living them longer. Although it is only the women who are affected this way it seems. There is no apparent correlation with married and unmarried men.

For all that though, I wouldn’t exactly say it’s a comforting thought. Sure, it’s great to live out a long healthy life. And being single may give you more of an opportunity to do whatever whenever you want. But I still think that I wouldn’t particularly want to live out my life alone. My mind hasn’t actually been changed on that point. It’s not fun to constantly be the third wheel to couples and lets face it, society is just not geared for singles. Your insurance is more expensive, your tax breaks aren’t necessarily as good (although to be fair, some people are better off) and it can be easy to create the wrong impression when you bring a female along as your ‘date’.

On the other hand however, there could be some amusement in being the crotchety old spinster who spies on her neighbours and rings up talkback radio to complain about everything. It might also be entertaining to be the funky aunt who is heaps more fun than the mum. If you are going to be in a minority then you might as well do completely as you wish and make the most of it. You probably won’t really be alone, as the numbers in this category appear to be growing, but there’s no reason why it can’t be fun.

I remember reading a great poem once called When I Am Old I Shall Wear Purple. It’s about a woman who states that when she is of an advanced age, she will do whatever she feels like, even if it shocks others. I think it ends with her saying that she should start practicing now though so she can acclimatise people first. Whether you choose to do this as a single or as part of a double act though, I’m sure this must be one of the real secrets to health and happiness. So if you take it on board - long life to you.