Babylune

Criticism & Teasing are Unhealthy

by kate baggott on February 20th, 2006

OK, I have to rethink my commentary on the post partum father. In one post I was worried about uninvolvement, and in another I talked about how there could be more involvement. Both posts may have implied criticism of my own husband and the second took a teasing tone (although that was more for entertainment purposes).
If I want to enjoy a healthy old age, I had better reconsider my attitude. Idealizing Your Spouse is Good For You, says a recent Toronto Star headline. Research conducted by Vancouver-based clinical psychologist Norm O’Rourke “has shown people who idealize their partners later in life, who unconsciously choose to remember only the good things, have fewer incidents of chronic disease.”

O’Rourke is currently recruiting couples to participate in a long term study of how couples idealize each other and why the health outcomes are so positive.

Looking at your spouse through rose-coloured glasses is something that makes for positive health outcomes no matter what your life situation may be.

“There’s no gender difference, there’s no socio-economic difference, there’s no religious difference, there’s no educational difference,” O’Rourke told the Canadian Press reporter.

That said, it is my duty to report that yesterday, while I took our three year-old for a two hour walk, my husband watched the baby and cleaned our whole apartment. He really is a great guy.

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POSTED IN: Mental Health