Men have as much problems, but look for therapy less than women.
Therapy has been majorly successful in guiding people to a more positive outlook on their psychological wellbeing. However, despite going through stressful life events and other negative psychological states; not everyone is so keen on seeking therapy.
According to the American Psychological Association, many studies have shown that more women than men seek therapy, regardless of age and ethnicity. But they have more or less the same problems. So, what does this say about men?
Society influences how men look at their emotions.
As people grow, they become influenced by the social world; they adapt to their respective role. The role theory is a set of assumptions that revolve around people learning their respective roles and performing them. Men learn to be hardened, dominant and keep their emotions to themselves. They may learn that they do not need any help from anyone.
As a result, men tend to hide their insecurities, doubts and negative emotions to avoid appearing weak to people. Men in power often hide their illnesses to avoid exclusion or isolation. For example, both John F. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt attempted to hide their physical illnesses from the public.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes are a group of assumptions in our heads about a specific group of people. As society has influenced us to think of men as these dominant, superior beings that have no problems at all, we are encouraged to treat men accordingly. For example, have you ever heard a parent yelling at a crying boy to “be a man”?
This all falls back to the role theory. To elaborate, stereotypes influence us to treat men according to our set of assumptions, which encourage men to fit into a specific role. Thus, the stereotypes become stronger.
Toxic Masculinity
The term “masculinity” is a social construct. The way we interpret masculinity is influenced by society, and this influence can make this construct very toxic.
Adhering to societal roles of masculinity is detrimental to anyone. Difficult situations or negative emotions may lead men to suppress their emotions, stay in denial or project their insecurities onto other people.
With the suppression of emotions, men can become very aggressive and may even resort to violence to compete for their strength and dominance. Becoming overwhelmed with anger and denied emotions may make it difficult for men to acknowledge that they are struggling with a problem and lessen the chances to seek therapy. Being pushed over the edge, the last step these men would eventually do is attempted murder or suicide.
Let’s break the stereotypes.
Men need to become more in touch with their emotions. To do so, they must be able to express their emotions in a safe environment. It is natural for anyone to feel insecure and have negative feelings. It is natural to be emotional and doubt one’s own abilities in front of people.
Break the stereotypes and treat everyone the same. In the end, we all struggle with negative emotions and insecurities, regardless of age, sex and gender.
