The Breakup!
I had an interesting conversation recently with a young man who had experienced quite a traumatic relationship breakdown with his (so he thought) soulmate, forever partner, future wife etc. I could very much relate and empathise to his situation having gone through similar situations in the past myself, and also having friends and family experience the same. In my experience, and having discussed with mentors, friends and other trusted individuals, it always seemed to be the case that in a relationship breakdown, predominantly, it took the man significantly longer to recover emotionally than the female in the relationship. (in most cases it was the females decision to end things, primarily because of unfaithfulness on their part). One possible explanation is that societal norms often encourage men to suppress their emotions and not openly express vulnerability. This can lead to men internalising their feelings and dealing with the pain in ways that may se...