In our culture men (anybody who identify as one) have been led to believe that seeking help, particularly through therapy, signifies weakness. This belief stems from conventional male roles that prioritize self-reliance and emotional resilience. Men are often encouraged to "figure it out" on their own and to suppress challenging emotions.

While in recent decades our society has experienced rapid shifts in gender norms, men today often remain susceptible to traditional notions of masculinity and specific cultural expectations around how they should, or should not, feel and express their emotions. That is, it is still common for men to experience spoken or unspoken pressure to keep their feelings within, to “be a man” and not cry, and to avoid any other signs of vulnerability or weakness.  

Yet there is no doubt that men, just like others, experience significant stressors when it comes to relationships, careers, sexuality, parenthood, finances, and a range of other daily experiences. Men also tend to encounter certain emotional states or conditions with great frequency—for example, anger and irritability. This is partly because anger, frustration, and aggression are feelings that have historically been condoned by society as “accepted and expected” for males to express. When it comes to the many other emotions a man may actually be feeling, it can be challenging for him to acknowledge them, tease them apart, and identify how they are influencing his relationships, his sense of self, his behaviors, and even his broader life course.