Men and Medicine and Almost Anything Else

It was with great interest that I read an article this morning on AOL, Huffington Post, concerning men and heart attacks.  It seems that men live longer, healthier and fuller lives if married.  Not only do they live longer but they actually will seek medical attention in a more timely manner.  They will actually pay more attention to getting medical treatment for a heart attack if they have a spouse.  And the spouse doesn't even have to be present for them to seek the treatment. You would want to think that this is because they care more about what happens to them when they know others depend and care about them.  Personally I think its more likely that men just hate to hear "I told you so" so much that they will go against their natural instincts of avoidance and denial in order to try to keep a woman from telling them how stupid they are.  All of us know that women have always gotten a bum rap for nagging.  And yet, we all also know that if a woman asked a man to do something one time, and he did it, she would not have to nag.  In many marriages it is the primary form of communication. It is the dance of intimacy for many.  But when science comes forward and admits that if we women didn't nag men they wouldn't do the right things, what's a woman to do? Case in point, my ex husband told me yesterday that he has decided to stop taking his medication because he not longer feels "suicidal".  Now if any one thing in the world should convince you to take your medication it would be the fact that you said until you took the medicine "you felt like killing yourself".  You certainly wouldn't want to wait until you once again were terribly depressed, suicidal or in an insane asylum to feel that you might want to take your medication. But men are creatures of denial and he is my "EX" husband so I will not nag him about taking his medicine. Funny though, I have yet to see a report that says women live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives when they are married.  In fact, you could ask many an old broad like myself and she would say that her life is pretty much just about as happy, healthy and fulfilling since he had nagged her poor husband to death or divorce court.  I do though miss my husband and I miss being loved by someone; but I am, in fact, healthy as a horse. And I don't have to be a nag. Pun intended.