I was chatting to a friend about the the huge ratio of female clients that I have verses male clients. I love working with both. Women tend to be a little more open about there issues with friends and I suppose for that reason amongst others they find it an easy transition to coming to see a professional counsellor like myself and deal with their issues.
My friend hypothesised that men’s reluctance to ask for help may have something to do with ‘male pride’. So if you see asking for help as weak then you will judge yourself as a weak man if you ask for help? Which I totally buy however, the way I would define pride is a self celebration, an internal comfort knowing you are good at a particular task/activity and getting joy from repeating that activity with positive outcomes.
However, when someone is harbouring a discomfort/ anger/ frustration/ anxiety their is no self celebration, there is just self pity, self loathing and self judging. How can one define that as pride?
So if you are male and feeling those discomforts, then why not drop the prejudice and give yourself a chance to look at your stuff in a safe environment. I guarantee you will feel proud of your achievements! 🙂
Rekha Neilson
