Men's Mental Health And Wellbeing

Men and women often deal with emotions in quite different ways. When upset, women are more likely to express their feelings directly and to seek support, whereas men may hide their emotions or withdraw. Increasingly men are seeking out professional help. Many brave men have shared their stories of male depression and other difficulties publicly with the hope of normalising men’s mental health so that other men may also seek help. To find out more about famous men who have shared their experiences click here.

I don’t want to feel this way, so why is it so hard to get help?

You may feel that you need to be self-reliant and provide for your family, and expressing your feelings “won’t help anyone”. You may have grown up hearing phrases like ‘chin up’, ‘pull your socks up’. Many men have experienced fathers who were emotionally distant, who rarely, if ever, cried or expressed affection outwardly. You may not know how to “connect with your feelings” or “talk about how you are feeling” so it makes sense that the idea of seeing a psychologist may feel daunting initially, but it’s important you know that these are the things we are here to help you with.

Even though many men want help they might have misconceptions about what therapy is like or not know what to expect. Men often haven’t had the opportunity to talk about their worries. It’s normal to feel anxious coming to therapy for the first time but we find once men have completed their first session they will often say they feel relieved and it was good to talk to someone who is not a part of their everyday life. You can rest assured although some of the things you are experiencing are pretty “heavy” and yes we will probably get you “to talk about your feelings”, we also know how to have a laugh and you will learn practical tools to better manage stress and your mood.

Why do men go to therapy?

At Stirling Psychology, we see men who come to us for all different reasons. You may be stressed and overwhelmed by the demands of work or financial stressors. You may be struggling with the overwhelming demands of work and parenthood, you may be having problems in your relationships. You may have recently gone through a big transition- you may have set up your own business, started a new job, want to leave your current role, or you may have recently retired. You may find you are having difficulty concentrating or are struggling to make decisions? You may be feeling anxious, depressed, stressed or overwhelmed. You may just feel like you need to talk to someone about the things you are struggling with or may want to develop skills in a particular area.

Partners in Men’s Mental Health

Stirling Psychology is committed to increasing awareness and supporting men to access the help they need. We have been fortunate to work in partnership with HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) and feel privileged to be acknowledged as the first HALT friendly psychologist. You can find out more about HALT here.  

You don’t need to be brave, you need to be courageous, and to be courageous you have to let your guard down and be open
– Jimmy Barnes