-
- Holding hands, but does she tell him
she loves him?
-
- Men are less likely to be told "I
love you" by their partners, although they want to hear the words
just as much as women, say two leading charities.
-
- A Valentine's Day survey by Samaritans
and Relate shows that 65% of men had said "I love you" to a partner,
compared with only 49% of women.
-
- It also found that a small proportion
of the 1,000 people surveyed were more likely to tell their pets they loved
them than their male relatives.
-
- The charities believes openly expressing
romantic feelings could have a significant effect on relationships and
mental health.
-
- Three-quarters of suicide attempts are
put down to relationship problems and young people account for two thirds
of would-be suicides.
-
- Although teenage women are still the
most likely to try to take their lives, the number of men aged between
15 and 24 attempting suicide has risen by almost 200% in the last decade.
-
- Crisis support
-
- The survey was released as actress Helen
Baxendale spearheads the launch of a campaign aimed at encouraging people
to wear their hearts on their sleeves - and cut soaring suicide rates among
the young.
-
- The star of Friends and Cold Feet has
been chosen to model a white T-shirt, featuring a tattoo-style Take Heart
logo on the sleeve and numbers for Relate and the Samaritans on the inside
label.
-
- Both Relate, which offers relationship
counselling, and The Samaritans, who provide support for people in crisis,
say young people are less likely than older people to use their services.
-
- Ms Baxendale said: "Relationship
difficulty is one of the strongest factors in suicide attempts. And young
men, in particular, shy away from seeking help with such problems. But
many relationships can be prevented from breaking down if help is sought.
-
- "Good love and romance aren't always
what the hype cracks them up to be. Valentine's Day isn't always as much
fun as many of us would like."
-
- Less romantic
-
- The survey also found that young people
were less likely to be romantic than their parents.
-
- Only 51% of young people surveyed said
they had last said "I love you" to their partner.
-
- This compared with 69% of 45- to 54-year-olds.
-
- Almost one-fifth of the people asked
could not remember the last time they said "I love you" and only
19% had said it and meant it.
-
- A quarter did not know why they had said
it.
-
- Love in a brothel
-
- However, many people had uttered the
three words spontaneously.
-
- Only 2% of men admitted to saying "I
love you" to get a woman into bed, fewer than those who said they
did it to get a present or a favour.
-
- And 1% of men said they last said "I
love you" in a brothel.
-
- Simon Armson, chief executive of The
Samaritans, said: "All of us, especially young people, should be encouraged
to express our feelings freely. Hang-ups about emotional expression can
cause a lot of damage."
-
- Sarah Bowler of Relate added that sharing
feelings was vital for a healthy relationship and kept the communication
lines open.
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