Emotional Problems: Why Do Some Men Suffer In Silence When They Have Mental And Emotional Problems?

While anyone can suffer from mental and emotional problems, there is a stronger chance that someone will reach out for support if they are woman. What this comes down to is that this is something that affects each sex differently.

Times Have Changed

As although certain parts of the world have changed in terms of how each sex behaves, it doesn’t mean that everyone feels as though they can behave how they want to behave. For example, someone can believe that it is ok for them to express certain parts of themselves, but that they need to hide others.

Therefore, older generations could look at their behaviour and think about how they didn’t feel comfortable behaving in the same way, and yet one could feel restricted. And if they only have their own experience to go by, it is going to be normal for them to think about how bad they have it.

A Process

What this emphasises is that it takes time for things to change, and while there is less pressure on men and women to behave in a certain way, it hasn’t completely disappeared. As a result of this, there can be moments when someone ends up behaving in ways that go against their true nature.
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It would then be easy to blame society and to say that this is something that will take place when they go out into the world. It will then be necessary for them to be around their friends and/or family in order for them to be themselves.

A Closer Look

Yet even though this can sound accurate, it is not always going to be this black and white. One could find that this matches up with their reality, or they may find that this is something they experience even when they are around the people they are close to.

It then won’t matter if they are around people they know or people they don’t know, as they will suffer. They will feel as though they always have to act like a man/woman and this is going to cause them to feel trapped.

Out of Their Hands

Now, when it comes to what society is like, it could be said that one has very little control. However, this is not the case when it comes to who they spend their time with, and this is because they can choose their friends.

And if one was to have people in their life that didn’t pressure them to be a certain way, they could still have expectations. The expectations that they have could all depend on what their sex is.

Intimate Relationships

If one is a man, they could find that although their partner is fairly accepting, this soon changes if they show emotion. This could come as a surprise if their partner acts as though they are a balanced or an evolved human being.

And if one is a woman, they could also find that their partner starts to change if they act in an assertive manner. Their partner could say that he accepts strong women, but one will see that this is not the complete truth.

Cut-Off

Due to this, one doesn’t need to be in a position where they don’t have any friends to feel disconnected from others. This is something they can experience even if they have a partner and a number of people in their life.

And along with how they behave around their partner (if they have one), there can also be how they feel the need to behave around their same sex friends. This can mean that one will end up hiding parts of themselves when they are around them.

In The Headlines

When it comes to what men have the tendency to hide when they are around others, their feelings are likely to be at the top of the list. This is something that has been shown by the amount of men who commit suicide each year.

Instead of these men reaching out for the support they need, they end up taking their own lives. It can be easy to say these men are selfish for taking their own life and leaving people behind to live with the consequences of their actions, but it could be said that this overlooks how much pain they must have been in.

Unbearable

For one to say that another person was selfish for taking their life, it can show that they can’t or won’t empathise with them. And if someone has left young children behind, for instance, it can show that the pain was overwhelming.

Everything else, no matter how important it was, would then have faded into the distance. They then believed that only way for them to change their life was to end their life, and this would have been seen as what would allow them to finally be free.

Two Experiences

When a man is going through something like this or is suffering in another way, there is going to be at least two sides. On one side, there will be the pain of what is taking place within them, and on the other side, there will be how they feel and the thoughts they have about sharing what they are going through with others.

What this can come down to is that they can feel the need to look as though they have it all together, and this can be the result of them believing that they are always supposed to be strong. This is then where their value comes from and if they were to show another side, other people would reject and abandon them.

Shame

The pain they are going through is then kept within them due to the amount of shame they are experiencing around what is taking place within them. This can then cause them to create their own prison, and at best they will suffer in silence, or at worst they will take their life.

Awareness

If one is going through a challenging time, it is essential that they reach out for support, and the sooner they do this the sooner their life will begin to improve. This support can be provided by a therapist or a trusted friend, for instance.

Reaching out for support is something that takes courage and is not a sign of weakness. 

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Oliver JR Cooper
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk/