Older men’s informal coping practices for maintaining mental wellbeing: the importance of social connections and community groups

As the population continues to age, the number of older men living longer and healthier lives is increasing. In the context of mental health, older men can be considered a vulnerable subgroup of men (Oliffe et al, 2013) with specific age- related concerns that warrant further attention. Across health and social care, a greater understanding of older men’s mental health and emotional wellbeing is called for. This chapter focuses on older men’s informal mental health coping and management practices and aims to highlight the positive ways in which men maintain mental wellbeing through routines and social connections. Moving away from the often- stigmatised term of ‘mental illness’, Williamson (2010) suggests that ‘emotional wellbeing’ may be a more helpful term to use when exploring groups such as older men. In this chapter, the terms ‘mental health’, ‘distress’ (defined as a challenging emotional experience), ‘emotional difficulties’ and ‘mental wellbeing’ are used to capture older men’s nuanced experiences of maintaining emotional wellbeing.