POLL: Which is worse separation or divorce?

If you’ve ever been divorced against your will, you know it could be the hardest thing you will ever go through in your life. But is it harder than the separation? Not according to a new Gallop Poll.

After surveying 131,159 adults across the U.S. for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the researchers found that those who are separated experienced significantly more daily stress than those who were married or divorced. Fifty-one percent of separated Americans reported feeling stressed the day prior to taking the survey, while only 38.6 percent of married Americans and 44.1 percent of divorced Americans claimed to feel the same way.

Although separation does offer the hope that the marriage can be saved, the stress of that hope, coupled with the fear of the unknown could make the separation a much tougher pill to swallow than the absolute finality of a divorce.

Which do you feel is harder to deal with separation or divorce?