Would more men be open to going to therapy if they had resources tailored specifically for them, and if the office had Emotional Support Animals for appointment use?
Wow, I’m seeing a lot of strong anti-therapy vibes here, so I’ll pitch in my two cents.
Therapy is a great tool, if you go into it with clear expectations and you can stomach the cost- both in time and money. Some insurance providers cover it, some don’t, but either way if you don’t have a therapist that you vibe with, you need to be willing to swap around until you find someone that fits you. Note, however, that there’s a big difference between a therapist that is right for you, and one that just doesn’t challenge you.
My experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been really positive; my first therapist that I really got along with professionally was a great teacher, I really learned how to unpack things that I was feeling in the moment. He helped teach me tools to alleviate the intensity of moments that seemed dire, and to then reflect on why they felt that way, afterwards.
There’s a lot of people who think that it’s supposed to magically fix you, and no, it’s not. It’s work. Genuinely some of the hardest work I’ve done has been applications of the stuff I’ve learned in therapy. But, while I recognize that with stuff like chronic depression, true cures are rare-to-impossible, I’ve got a much better handle on my negative thoughts and self-esteem than I had pre-therapy. It’s been a tremendous help.
I think more tools for people in general would be incredible - the work of normalizing therapy has come a long way, but still it has even further to go. I think the biggest barrier is always cost, and in a perfect world we’d treat both sickness of the mind and body free for everyone.
I’ve been to a ton of therapy. It didn’t do anything for me. Actual quotes I’ve heard include, “You’re too depressed for therapy,” and, “I really focus on one traumatic event at a time; you have too much going on.”
So what do I do with that? Nothing. I take my pills, try not to think about the clawing depression, and take care of my family. Therapy isn’t going to help because nothing is going to help.
Anywho, back to work Monday.
isn’t men’s mental health an oxymoron?
These issues are so big, therapy isn’t gonna be viable. Men have specific and painful societal issues. In the longterm, we need to change the way we socialize boys. The way we talk about expectations of their role, the way we talk about patriarchy and masculinity. There’s a lot of toxic masculinity, and far too little positive masculinity. Boys need far better role models than they currently have (youtubers? music artists - rappers? politicians?). Men of all ages need more third places to make friends, and date without apps that are frankly designed to make insecure men feel less valuable than women.
Would men be open to therapy? Maybe, but not all of them need it. Most men can point exactly towards what in society is peeving them. The system needs to change, rather than the individual.
system needs to change, rather than the individual.
We can all agree; meanwhile nobody does anything… The individual can try to adapt using available resources as to not develop or try dealing with issues: spirituality and evidence-based therapy is a good start, and I believe that should be taught since childhood.
I’m a woman but due to my interests in traditionally masculine activities and general disinterest in conventional gendered behaviours, I hang around a lot of men. Most of my close friends have been men. From my experience, if men want to improve their mental health then they need to develop a better relationship with vulnerability and the shame they’ve been conditioned to feel around that.
Mental health stigma exists for everyone and as a society we need to fuck this right off. Mental health challenges are part of the human experience in the same way physical illnesses are and we need to support people accordingly. I’ve noticed that a lot of men tend to have issues with expressing their feelings out of fear of being vulnerable. The outdated myth that men are less emotional really doesn’t help this situation either. This can also create barriers for men in seeking mental health support, both formal and informal.
It needs to more okay for men to be vulnerable. All people are vulnerable and it doesn’t make you weak. All people need support at some point in their lives. Emotions are really hard and it’s better to recognise and acknowledge them than it is to push them down. Expressing vulnerability and overcoming difficult feelings shows bravery and strength.
Every single man I know tells his version of the same story: You confide in a woman, you tell her something you’re upset about, something you’re insecure about, you open up…and she uses it as a weapon against you the next time she’s angry. She wasn’t offering her support, she was arming herself.
Women talk a big game about wanting men to be more emotional, more vulnerable, more open. They love pretending this about themselves. A man saying emotion words is their favorite TV show, but it seems like it never airs. I’ve had girls throw weird little tantrums because I was frustratingly okay. If there wasn’t anything wrong with me, she was going to BE the thing wrong with me. Then I’ll have to talk about my feelings with her.
…until he actually does. Then it’s time to throw his clothes out the window while screaming about “emotional labor.” She shouldn’t be expected to handle his emotions for him. How dare he burden her in such a way?
Most men have learned this lesson by the time he’s figured out how to have orgasms on purpose. He knows not to open up to a woman the same way he knows not to headbutt a cactus. All it’s going to do is make his whole week suck more.
The world we live in, at least in regards to this, is a woman’s world and it’s not fit for men. It’s forcing men to do what’s best for women, then if they have any issues things that worked on women are used on men. If men act like women at the end then great, if they still act like men then they are broken.
Now I probably lost a load of people already but bare with me.
Women/ girls have issues then men/boys have to do something about it. Boys constantly get told how to behave how awful their sex is how they need to do this and that and they are wrong, they are responsibly etc. But it doesn’t matter if they are perfectly good citizen and boy it’s still their fault for all the wrong in the world. Nothing ever goes back the other way. Some rich guy has a load of money, that means all guys are responsibly for having a load of money and all guys need to make less money. It’s stupid.
But more to the point how do you make guys happy? Guys do not want one on one sessions when they can talk about all their issues and cry then feel better. That’s a woman’s solution to a problem. Men are built different and need solutions.
The best thing I found is being part of a men only group where we physically hurt each other and used our aggression to have fun with each other. (Rugby). Especially when I was younger men need that testosterone release. Then we all went to the pub got fucked up, was dicks to each other. But we had each others backs. This is what women do not get. They see us fighting each other, calling each other cunts and what not. But if you did something bad the group will let someone call you a cunt and get put in your place, if you are doing something bad the group will step in. If you did nothing wrong then it keeps going on. But we still talk and look out for each other. Here is the point. Who do you think I would rather talk to? Some person in a open collar shirt and fancy office trying to look approachable? Or some guy in a shirt and tie covered in beer, in a dark room, with a black eye and arms the size of my head, that earlier in the day called me a fucking pussy and told me to man the fuck up and get in the game because I just got pushed off a tackle. I bet 9/10 women would get that wrong. Also I’m the person that would respond well to that sort of encouragement, I don’t need to feel sorry for myself that doesn’t help. I need motivation. Women don’t get that either.
Men need men only spaces where they can de-stress and shoot the shit. This is why pubs have been so popular with men. But we need a revival of social clubs. Just a place where you can go to hang out and not need to drink, somehow children need to be involved too by maybe not every day.
