Women tend to seek therapy more than men and consist of nearly two-thirds of the therapy patients across the world. According to Collier (1982), 1 in 3 women are likely to seek therapy from a trained professional, as opposed to 1 in 7 men. Women are more connected to other women and are more willing to discuss their feelings with others (Shill & Lumley, 2002).

For most males, seeking help is often the last resort. In fact, men may benefit more than women from therapy as they are becoming increasingly disconnected due to trying to cope with the demands of their lives. Men usually find themselves in a place where they have no one to talk to and are unable to open up about their feelings. This results in a lot of men developing mental health issues and resorting to hidden actions like drugs and pornography.

However, the stigma around seeking therapy and the fact that men generally do not like sharing their feelings with a stranger means that men mostly do not receive the mental health support that they truly need.

Other factors that prevent men from seeking therapy include that you may think that your need for help indicates a sign of weakness, even though it is actually a sign of strength to realize that you need mental health support in the first place.

At Integrated Men, we encourage you to push past your discomfort of this process and seek help because it is a great complementary therapy, along with attending the male support group space.

How Do You Know It’s Time To Seek Therapy?

Here is a list of some of the signs, also known as red flags that indicate whether you need therapy or not.

1. The most obvious and dangerous sign is if you are having thoughts to harm yourself.
2. Losing hope or not feeling motivated constantly is an important sign to watch out for.
3. Difficulty controlling anger and rage is a common issue for men who should get in touch with a professional.
4. Losing interest in things that would generally be of interest to you may be an indicator of depression.
5. It is common for men to withdraw socially when they’re feeling extremely low. This might even lead you to feel worse as you might stop discussing your feelings altogether which increases the buildup on one’s mind.

Benefits of Having a Therapist

Therapy can be tremendously rewarding. It is a judgment-free safe space where you know that you have the privacy to share absolutely anything with a trained professional.

Here are some ways that men can benefit from therapy:

• Therapy can help you achieve fulfilling relationships
  With the help of a therapist, you can learn how to handle difficulties in relationships. For example, you will learn how to address difficulties with insecurities or trust problems in relationships.
• You will learn self-awareness skills
  Through therapy, you can learn how to identify what you are feeling and comprehend how your feelings affect your behavior. This wisdom does not only improves your relationship with your partner but also improves your relationship with your family members and friends.
• It provides you with a safe and non-judgmental space to share your feelings
  Since most men do not really share their emotions with their friends or partners, they do not have a space to let their feelings out which increases the buildup on their minds. Therefore, therapists are trained professionals who have their client’s best interests at heart.
• Your overall health will improve
  The human mind and body are intimately connected. What this means is that if something impacts your mind, it will also have an effect on your body and vice versa. Similarly, people with good mental and emotional health will have better physical health.

Seeking therapy is never a sign of weakness and everyone owes it to themselves to do what they can to live a healthy and happy life. However, if you are unable to find a therapist at the moment, we recommend that you should join a male support group, such as Integrated Men so that you can interact with other men who have been through similar situations or lived through what you may be going through.

References:

Collier, H. (1982). Counseling women. New York, NY: Free Press.

Shill, M. A., & Lumley, M. A. (2002). The Psychological Mindedness Scale: Factor structure, convergent validity and gender in a non-psychiatric sample. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 75(2), 131–150.