By UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

A new UBC study confirms that when #men transition out of relationships, they are at increased risk of #mentalillness, including #anxiety, #depression, and #suicide.

“Most #men experienced the onset or worsening of #mentalillness symptoms during a distressed relationship or following the breakdown of a relationship,” says the study’s lead author Dr. John Oliffe, a Canada Research Chair and UBC professor of nursing whose work focuses on men’s #mentalhealth. He noted that marital separation quadruples the risk of #male #suicide and suggests that distressed relationships as well as separation and divorce contribute to men’s #mentalhealthchallenges.

Dr. Oliffe and the team at UBC’s Men’s Health Research Program interviewed 47 #men about their experiences with the breakdown of an intimate partner relationship. When faced with conflict in their relationships, #men tended to downplay issues, causing the relationship to fracture even further.

Dr. John Oliffe, UBC nursing professor and men’s health researcher. Credit: University of British Columbia

“Stereotyped masculinity plays a role in how #men react to a broken relationship,” says Dr. Oliffe, who also leads UBC’s Reducing #MaleSuicide research excellence cluster. “For example, men’s uncertainty for how to articulate and problem-solve in the relationship context resulted in many #men isolating rather than reaching out for help. Most #men in the study were battling with transitions in the partnership—like bereavement, parenting or infidelity—and their primary goal was to avoid conflict.”

The study also found that #men who were in distress following their breakup used substances, including #alcohol, to cope with feelings such as anger, regret, sadness, shame and guilt. This is in addition to the immense uncertainty of what life could look like with less access to #children, financial challenges and the loss of social connections.

Complicating these findings is the #isolation and disruption caused by #COVID-19 public health restrictions, which can lead to increased #alcohol and #substanceuse at home, and exacerbate conflict, leading to worsening #mentalhealth, Oliffe added.

On the positive side, the study revealed that following the breakdown of a relationship, #men did engage a variety of resources to address their #mentalhealthneeds.

#James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleOrder your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife:From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy

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Gabriela Montaner, men’s health researcher. Credit: University of British Columbia

“Help-seeking efforts among these #men were wide-ranging and included individual or solitary efforts like exercise, reading and self-care while other #men tapped existing networks or extended their efforts to connect with support groups, or attended therapy,” notes Gabriela Montaner, the project lead and co-author on the article.

In thinking about the implication for services, she explained that while #men tend to wait until crisis happens before seeking help, they did invest considerable time and effort to move on from, as well as understand their role in the break-up. “We need to re-conceptualize men’s #mentalhealth promotion as legitimately including self-help, informal resources and #male peer group services in addition to professional services.”

Dr. Oliffe added: “For the longest time we have treated separation and divorce as demographic data for examining risk factor potential in men’s #mentalillness and #suicide. The current study findings provide important contexts and direction for getting upstream to assist #men to build better relationships, and that is the focus of our current work with Movember.”

This study, published last week in Social Science and Medicine – Qualitative Research in Health, was funded by Movember.
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