The therapy room is a place to be heard with no judgment.

As men, we are taught by family, teachers, and our friends that we must be strong and provide. As much as these are positive messages, they can add pressure. Should we not be able to feel strong and able to provide, this can feel like failure. The new messages we may get from partners and family could be that we are failures and not good enough.

As we grow and develop, we witness our caregivers cope with life's stresses. We may see our parents use alcohol or drugs to cope, or they may be distant and avoidant when times are tough. This gives us the message that this could be a way for us to cope. These ways of coping may provide short-term ease, but in the long term, the stress and problems could become worse.

It can be a lonely place to be within ourselves. All our own thoughts and feelings can be hard to live with. The comments and expectations of family, friends, partners, and the wider world can add more pressure. If we are keeping all this pressure inside and showing a face that is not true, others may think you are ok, but all this pressure can lead to an explosion.

Are you seeing the signs of pressure? Can you see and hear yourself being angry, upset when alone, drinking more than usual and being avoidant? 

First step can be noticing you need support. You are not alone and the evidence is the work we have done. Its ok to feel how you feel. 

Imagine you are the pressure valve on a pipe, releasing that pressure helps to ease and decreases the build up and chances of explosion.

This is like talking in therapy, you express yourself and gain a better understanding of yourself.

Once this pressure has released, you will gain tools and support to learn knew ways to cope when life gets tough.

We hope by reading this article you will feel we understand how you may be feeling.

Should you have questions about how our therapists can help you, please contact us. We are more than happy to talk through the process and help you feel at ease about taking the next step to a new version of yourself.