When it comes to break-ups, girls know that only talking incessantly with our girlfriends, eating copious amounts of chocolate and getting drunk while bawling to the most depressing playlist on earth will make us feel better. But what do guys do?
Do they sit around in their pyjamas all day crying over a lost love, or do they brush it off and hit the clubs looking for the next girl? Maybe they too seek solace in eating chocolate, drinking too much and listening to bad '80s love songs?
According to counsellor John Soulsby, guys aren't all that different to us when it comes to dealing with break-ups – they talk to their friends too.
"Guys have always talked; it's just that they do it in a different way to girls. Girls will talk about feelings, whereas guys talk about actions. Girls say how they feel. They're hurt, upset or angry; they can't believe it happened. Girls also don't mind crying in front of their friends. Guys, on other hand, will state the facts, and that's about it.
"It's more about what happened, not how they feel about it. And often their mates will commiserate and say, 'That sucks, have a beer, you'll be right', and that's pretty much the end of it."
Commiserating over a beer is something Luke, 23, is familiar with. He turned to his mates for support when he ended an 18-month relationship after his girlfriend cheated on him. "Drinking with friends and having a few beers was the best therapy. Your mates are the ones who are there for you no matter what and having that support network helps you when you're grieving.
"I like talking to girls too because you get insight into how females think and an understanding of why things fell apart."
For Mick, 26, the end of his three-year relationship hit hard, as they had lived together. "It makes the break-up process a lot harder. You get used to having her around all the time, and all of a sudden she's not there anymore." Mick coped by making some positive changes to his life and keeping busy.
"Spending time with mates is important and I'm lucky I have close friends I can talk to," he says. "I try to do positive things with my life like get fit, work on my music, stuff like that. You need to try and fill the gaps in your week that you'd have spent with your partner."
Emotional baggage is an all too familiar by-product of a break-up, and guys aren't immune to lugging a few kilos of it around. Troy, 29, was in a relationship with his partner for eight years before they married. Two months later, he learnt his wife had been sleeping with her boss.
"I walked away," he recalls. "I did just about everything to try and get over it, from going out and picking up random girls to using drugs and alcohol. I thought about taking her back but knew I'd never trust her. I don't think I'll ever be totally over it. I'm remarried now, but in the back of my mind I'll always have trust issues."
When it comes to broken hearts, it seems that guys are like us – they hurt, they cry, they feel pain, and then they have to pick up the pieces and move on. It doesn't matter at all who is suffering; the advice remains the same for both guys and girls.
"The best thing to do after a break-up is access support, whether it comes from someone you know or a professional," advises Soulsby. "It really is as simple as that. It may seem difficult, especially for guys as they aren't always that willing to seriously talk about things, but it really is the best thing anyone can do."
Have your say: How have you coped after a break-up?
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