The Correlation Between Disaster and Divorce

Natural disasters (or other devastating life events) are known to have different emotional responses. As a result, we sometimes see an increase in births, marriages, and divorces during these times. The reason is quite simple, during highly emotional periods, people tend to make snap decisions to find a way to deal with the devastation and pain. They may wish to feel secure, thereby rushing to get married. Maybe they just want to have fun, leading to the birth of a child. Sometimes, all they do is argue with those closest to them and look for a way out. They think this will help ease the pain and let them start life over. Why are people so quick to pull the trigger and change their lives when a disaster occurs?

Fear Breeds Contempt

One school of thought is that fear breeds contempt. After a disaster, people are afraid. They are afraid that everything they have ever known is gone. They do not know how they will rebuild their lives.  During this time of fear, people may become angry with anyone who they feel may have caused this emotional or physical devastation. This is the time when emotions run high, causing couples to lash out at one another. As a result, people often say and do hurtful things and end up in Court filing a divorce.

Nothing Left to Lose

When a marriage fails, and a spouse feels as though they have lost everything, they sometimes emote in a manner that can be quite vitriolic. They recognize that unhappiness has been a part of their marriage for quite some time.  A disaster may be the escape plan for which they were looking. This is a time to cut all losses and start anew.  As callous as this last concept may sound, the truth is, people stay in bad marriages for a number of reasons. Many times, fear of the unknown and providing for their families are the most heard reasons families stay together. When a family is pushed into a life of uncertainty, wherein providing for the family is a constant struggle and change is inevitable, the escape is sometimes a divorce. While this is not the case for every family in the throes of a disaster, you may find an uptick in divorces from families you may have thought were always meant to be together.

If you are contemplating a divorce, regardless of the type of disaster you are facing, contact the Divorce and Family Law experts at Minneapolis-based Lake Harriet Law Office at 612-750-4843 to schedule a confidential consultation.  

Published On: October 19, 2017Categories: Family Law Updates

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