10 Tips for Men About What To Do After a Relationship Breakup.

1. Nesting

If you’ve moved out of your family home it’s important you create a “nest” for yourself in your new home.

e.g. Stock your cupboards with fruit and veg and supplies for cooking.
Put some art on the walls.
Buy some indoor plants.
Move all of your stuff from your prior home.

Men frequently avoid doing these things for various reasons (e.g., they think it will make them feel worse, or they lack motivation/energy after the breakup). However getting started on making a nest for yourself is likely to help you feel better.

Its important your new home feels emotionally warm and comfortable.

2. Go easy on the alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant.

Also, although it can make it easier to get to sleep, it makes it more likely you’ll wake up during the night and have disrupted sleep.

Having a hangover will make you more irritable and emotional, and make it less likely you will do the types of healthy behaviours that will lead to feeling better overall.

Its not uncommon for men to feel suicidal after a breakup. Since alcohol is “disinhibiting” – can lead to doing things you wouldn’t do if you were thinking clearly- its especially important you don’t drink excessively if you’re feeling suicidal.

3. Get a weekly relaxation massage (not the sexy kind!)

Physical touch is irreplaceable.

4. Invite friends over to your new house for dinner and cook for them

Social contact is important for helping with loneliness and cooking for friends can help you feel competent and confident.

Plan activities so that you’re not spending multiple nights in a row home alone.

5. Don’t “mindread” what others are thinking

Men often think that other people will judge them negatively for having had a relationship fail or a pattern of relationships that have failed. This is often not true or exaggerated. If you feel embarrassed about your relationship having ended, you might be “mindreading” (inaccurately guessing what others’ are thinking).

6. Talk to your friends (yeah I know, you’re a bloke)

You don’t necessarily need to do a lot of talking to your friends – just a little can make a big difference.

Bottling up your thoughts tends to increase shame, embarrassment, and loneliness.

Try just saying a sentence or two to your mates about your thoughts and feelings.

More in-depth conversations might also help. Consider asking friends who have had a long term relationship end what they found helpful for coping. Ask them how their thoughts and feelings about the breakup have changed over time. If you instigated your relationship break up, talk to other people who were in that role. If you were broken up with, talk to other people who were in that role.

7. Prioritize adequate sleep

Sleep deprivation makes people much more emotional than they usually are.

If you’re having problems with getting to sleep or waking up at the wrong times, get creative in figuring out how you can get more sleep.

e.g.
- If you wake up early in the morning and can’t get back to sleep, try getting up and going for a walk for half an hour (maybe while listening to the radio) and then go back to bed until your wake up time.

- Consider a 90 min daytime nap if that’s possible for you (e.g., on weekend days).

8. Guilt and shame

Guilt and shame are common emotions after a breakup.

The difference between guilt and shame is that guilt is about having done a specific thing whereas shame is more global negative feelings about what kind of person you are.

Guilt is sometimes warranted, shame generally isn’t.

9. How to feel hopeful about your future

Are you thinking there’s no hope for you to be happy in the future and no hope for you to have a successful relationship? Just because you fear you’re going to end up alone and lonely doesn’t mean this is going to happen. People’s current emotions affect how positive vs. negative they expect their future to be. Your thoughts are more likely being driven by your current mood/how you’re feeling right now, rather than reality.

That said, if you don’t want to repeat past patterns in future relationships, do some preparation for your next relationship. Read science-based relationships books (like the relationship books on this list) and get some individual help from a relationships psychologist to understand and overcome your past relationship patterns. You’re likely to benefit from just a few sessions to understand your blindspots that you can’t see for yourself.

If you think you might be depressed you should definitely see a psychologist.

10. Behave in ways that are consistent with your values

For example, if one of your most important values is being a good Dad to your children, think about how you can enact this, independent of your current emotions (e.g. anger at your ex-wife, anxiety about how to have a good relationship with your child).

NB: These tips also apply to women but most of the clients who come to see me for help coping with a relationship breakup are men.