hARD to admit I need help as a man…
Since starting my hypnotherapy practice I have been pleasantly surprised by how many men are contacting me and asking for help. However, on more than one occasion I have heard the following sentence during our initial conversations – “It’s really hard as a man to admit that I need help”.
I know that things have improved massively in recent years and there has been a real push in the media and society to take away the stigma of mental health but, I do think we still have a long way to go.
courage TO admit something is wrong…
I think that a lot of men (not all), perhaps particularly those of 40 and above are still living with the mindsets that they grew up with that men have to be strong and its wrong for a man to show emotion of any kind. Therefore, even if they do feel like they are struggling with any aspect of their lives they feel that admitting it is showing weakness. Whereas, I do actually think that the opposite applies and that it actually shows a great deal of courage to admit that something is wrong and that you may need some professional help to deal with it.
DISCUSSION ABOUT FOOTBALL….
I also wonder whether men may find it hard to open up as the relationships that they have with their friends are completely different than those us women have with our girlfriends. I know that when I am with friends no topic is off limits (even if perhaps they should be sometimes !) and that generally we know all of the details of each other lives. However, with men (and I am happy to be corrected on this) I get the feeling that most of the conversation between friends is still made up of discussion about football and sport in general and taking the mick out of each other and doesn’t generally go deeper. I may be completely wrong on this and would be happy for any man to correct me.
I also wonder whether some of this still goes back to evolutionary psychology and the days when the man had to be the hunter/gatherer and protector for their families and that any sign of weakness could show them to be vulnerable and an easy target.
DISCUSSION ABOUT FOOTBALL….
I also wonder whether men may find it hard to open up as the relationships that they have with their friends are completely different than those us women have with our girlfriends. I know that when I am with friends no topic is off limits (even if perhaps they should be sometimes !) and that generally we know all of the details of each other lives. However, with men (and I am happy to be corrected on this) I get the feeling that most of the conversation between friends is still made up of discussion about football and sport in general and taking the mick out of each other and doesn’t generally go deeper. I may be completely wrong on this and would be happy for any man to correct me.
I also wonder whether some of this still goes back to evolutionary psychology and the days when the man had to be the hunter/gatherer and protector for their families and that any sign of weakness could show them to be vulnerable and an easy target.
SIGN OF STRENGTH…
I am hoping that with the awareness of mental health that the next generation of men are growing up with that there will no longer be this perception regarding asking for help but, only time will tell.
In the meantime, to all the men out there please remember asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness.