We need to talk about male friendships

Studies show that men lose friends as they get older, and women keep hold of them. This imbalance in our social support systems can leave both parties feeling overloaded and alone. So, what can be done?

- Amy Grier finds out

4:37am is anxiety hour in this house. The time, somewhere between darkest night and the first light of morning, when my brain does its most catastrophic thinking. Tonight's subject? Whether my boyfriend is miserable. Earlier that day, we'd had a fraught discussion about our living situation (a small apartment rapidly closing in on us now that we have a sixmonth-old son) and where we should move to next. I want to stay in the city. It's where I grew up, where my support network is. He's from the countryside and has lived all over the world. He's here because he loves us, but it's by no means his first choice. Deep down, I suspect he's over it and longs for a calmer, quieter life outside a city.

The fight-sorry, 'fraught discussion-was actually pretty mundane. We both knew we'd end up staying here, and he, as an emotionally intelligent and kind man, has managed to put mine and our son's needs before his own.