Over the centuries, marriage has traditionally been a way for families to enhance and increase their economic security. In years past, women have had great difficulty supporting themselves financially and were very, very limited in the careers they were able to choose from. They were also paid a great deal less than their male counterparts for the same work. Marriage was a way for women to be economically secure.

Wedding cake split

The Reasons For Marrying Have Shifted

Today, the impetus for both men and women to enter into marriage has shifted to one of romantic love, companionship, and economic partnership. Divorce is often considered, if romantic love has run its course. In our contemporary society, women have many professional options available to them and are not so constrained to stay in an unsatisfying marriage for economic reasons. Both men and women enter and leave marriages more readily today than in the past. The option of whether or not to enter into a marriage and stay in a marriage reflects our current culture of choice, individuality and geographical flexibility.

When Your Needs Are No Longer Met

There are some pros to obtaining a divorce. Some people consider divorce when they no longer feel that their emotional or sexual needs are being adequately met by their current partner. It may be the case that an individual contemplating divorce meets a potential partner who promises to create a lot of happiness in his or her life. Divorcing may also free up both people to more fully focus on their careers. Ultimately, if you extricate yourself from an unsatisfying marriage, you can be free to do what you want to do and move to a different geographical location if desired.

There Are Cons To Leaving A Marriage

There are several universal cons to leaving a marriage. You can have a deep sense of personal failure as you enter into new relationships. You may also feel ashamed about the failure of your marriage in front of your family. Often an individual will feel quite confused and will not be sure about whether or not to leave the marriage. There may be a number of passionate reconciliations and break-ups in rapid succession. A divorce will also have a lasting impact on the emotional growth of your children.

An Alternative Before Marriage

If you are already considering divorce, a good alternative before filing paperwork to implement the divorce proceedings may be a trial separation. A trial separation will give you and your husband or wife the space you need to really evaluate the pros and cons of the marriage appropriately. Living separately will also enable you both to work on the issues in your marriage without being in such a pressure cooker.

Advantages Of Trial Separation

One of the major advantages of a trial separation is that it allows you and your spouse to work out your issues in a comfortable way. Often times when you're under the same roof and around each other all of the time, you can't get to the real solutions because of the abiding hostility and anger. However, when you're given some breathing room, it allows both of you to see the situation more clearly and decide if there are workable solutions to your problems. After you have gained some clarity, you will be able to evaluate both the positive and negative aspects of your marriage and decide whether or not to renew your marital vows or separate for good.