Men are more at risk of mental illness post-breakup, study finds

A recent UBC study found when men leave a relationship, they are at increased risk of mental illness, including anxiety, depression and even suicide.

When Roman Mironov’s marriage came to an end seven years ago, he was crushed.

“It was totally devastating because I actually expected that my marriage would last forever,” the now 39-year-old told Global News.

“I felt like that was the end of my life, for the first couple of weeks,” he said, noting he suffered mild depression. “I felt terrible and I just didn’t know what to do.”

Mironov’s feelings aren’t isolated.

A recent study out of the University of British Columbia commissioned by the Movember charity, found that when men leave a relationship, they are at increased risk of mental illness, including anxiety, depression and even suicide.found that when men leave a relationship, they are at increased risk of mental illness, including anxiety, depression and even suicide.

John Oliffe, the paper’s lead author, noted marital separation quadruples the risk of male suicide.

“If we think about suicide prevention and knowing that men (commit) suicide three to four times the rate of women, I think it’s such a given that the relationship breakdowns do put them at risk,” said Oliffe, a Canada Research Chair and UBC professor of nursing.

Researchers interviewed 47 men from Canada and Australia and asked them about their experiences with their breakups. 96 per cent shared detailed accounts of “anxiety, depression and suicidality” both during and after the failed partnership. They found that when faced with conflict, the men downplayed issues, causing the relationship to fracture even further.