What’s good for the goose may not necessarily be good for the gander. For example, consider marriages. According to researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, men experience less stress and depression when they are living with someone but not married. Men with the best mental health in the study had been though "several flings" and one researcher told New Scientist, "Feeling trapped is a problem for them." On the other hand, or perhaps we should say the other side of the bed, women have less stress and depression when they’re married. Researchers surmise that cohabiting is troublesome for women because it doesn’t provide the security of financial and property rights. Unlike a man, a woman’s mental health deteriorates with each broken relationship or "fling" in her life. The solution is obvious to anyone. If the current divorce trend in our country continues, women seeking stability in marriages with men, who basically would much rather cohabit and carry around a little black address book, will have to think creatively. The secret to a long marriage might be allowing a man to think that he’s really single and living with different women. He must have the illusion that he’s playing the field, even though his wife is the only woman in his life. The following suggestions should be helpful for any wife who notices her husband seems particularly stressed or depressed with the togetherness she finds so ideal. Be coy and respond to different names when your husband talks to you. "Did you just call me Mary? Who is she, your girl from last night?" To keep your husband from feeling emotionally tied down, let him hear you tell people that the children living with both of you are yours from another marriage. Change your appearance on a weekly, or even daily basis. Experiment with different hair colors and hairstyles. In the case of older wives, who have grown used to seeing the same face across the breakfast table after many years, physical features can be altered easily by wearing or not wearing their dentures. The different smiles they project will alter their appearances easily and dramatically. Consciously develop well-defined, split personalities. Become Valerie the Vixen one minute and Holly the Homemaker the next. While the Vixen won’t have dinner ready at night, the Homemaker will. (This idea is based on a zoo I once visited, where the lions and tigers had to skip one random meal a week. As a result of not knowing which meal would fail to appear, the huge felines were very spirited, agitated and consequently photogenic.) Spirited and agitated should be good for a marriage. Similarly, not knowing who might meet him at the door will keep any husband lively, interested and on edge. Finally, act out scenarios which will add to the appearance that he’s single when he’s not. Have him "pick you up" at prearranged times and places within your community. The most romantic sites and pickup lines might involve the produce section of the grocery store ("There are some melons I’d like to squeeze!"), the shopping mall ("Need some help with those packages?"), or at a local restaurant ("Are you waiting for someone or may I join you?"). When it comes to saving a marriage, no stunt should be left unturned.
