Men are taught that certain activities, colors, and more are manly things to participate in. If you don’t like those things or want to try something else, you are ridiculed for doing “girly” things. This includes showing emotions and expressing yourself. The stigma of “being a man” hinders progression, especially when trying to overcome substance use disorder (SUD). Spero Recovery’s men’s recovery program understands this and works to break this stigma and help you get in touch with your emotions.
The Stigma of “Being a Man”
Stigmas are often separated into internal and external stigmas. Internal is your personal view about yourself because of external forces. This can lead to you thinking negatively about yourself and lowering your self-esteem. External is when others push their opinions and beliefs onto you, and make you feel negatively if you don’t fit them. These external stigmas can become internal when you start believing the negative comments and attitudes being thrown at you.
“Being a man” can start as an external stigma because your family members, friends, and males in your life are all pushing their beliefs onto you. They can constantly be telling you that part of being a male is pushing your emotions to the side, not seeking out help, only being interested in “manly” things, and even who you can love. You’ll be ridiculed, judged, shunned, or harmed if you participate in things they don’t deem appropriate because of your gender.
This judgment and prejudice can turn the external stigma into an internal one. You start to believe that you can’t do certain things you enjoy because it would be looked down upon, which can make negatively impact the way you think about yourself. After all, you don’t fit the toxic stereotype of “being a man.”
Overcome This Stigma by Getting in Touch With Your Emotions
Breaking the thought process of “being a man” can be difficult, especially if you haven’t been presented with another view other than the stereotype. It will take dedication and help from others to do so. Some things that can help break the stigma include:
Reach Out
This can be trusted friends and family, a support group, or a mental health professional. When you can feel yourself going down a dark path, reach out for help. It is a show of strength not weakness, being able to admit you need help. Not getting the assistance you need can worsen your mental health condition and have a negative impact on your life.
Getting the help, you need can lift a weight off your shoulders, and give you the freedom to get better. Recognizing the emotions associated with going down a dark path is the first step toward progress.
Change Your Thinking
You can do this in a variety of ways, one of which is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT looks at your behavior and thought process to find the false or negative thinking processes. It then works with you to correct this thinking for the better.
Better thought processes can include thinking positively about yourself, your interests, and embracing the way you are feeling. It can also help you become better at communication, empathizing, and connecting with others.
Meditation
Meditation is a process that promotes body and mind connectivity. It uses repeated mantras, visualization, or breathing techniques to help you find peace, self-evaluation, and get in touch with your emotions.
Self-evaluation can help you understand your emotions during past responses and grow from them. Through meditation, you can evaluate the present and appropriately respond to situations. You can also honestly look at who you are now and envision who you want to become.
Using meditation can help you be present in the now and evaluate how you are feeling. Understanding your emotions can help you decipher a situation, figure out how you are feeling about where you are, and overall help you embrace what you are feeling.
Spero Recovery Helps You Get in Touch With Your Emotions as a Man in Recovery
We are an effective and affordable residential recovery facility located in Evergreen, Colorado. Our costs are kept below the national average through the use of grants and donations, which makes us a great match for under and uninsured individuals seeking help. The recovery programs are separated into men and women because we understand there are different needs to be met for each gender and want everyone safe and comfortable on their recovery journey.
The men’s program emphasizes overcoming the stigma of “being a man.” This is done by teaching you to understand, accept, and utilize your emotions. Getting in touch with your emotions helps you make and keep connections.
Having a good and abundant support system greatly improves your success in treatment and outside of it. You can reach out to others in your recovery community that understands and can help prevent relapse. Being a part of this community also allows you to see others embracing and using their emotions, which can make you feel more comfortable doing so.
Our program utilizes alumni to lead different sessions, including experiential therapy sessions. These sessions involve the use of new activities to help with treatment. Types of activities used include rock climbing, woodworking, cooking classes, hiking, nature walks, and sand volleyball, to name a few. The activities can help new skills, promote bonding, and be a tool of expression.
Alumni are rewarded by getting to connect with their community more and feel a sense of purpose. You get to see that success is possible and it gives you hope that you too can thrive in your new sober lifestyle. It allows you to confide in and receive advice from someone that has been in a similar situation as you so they understand and can empathize with what you are going through.
Men are told that they aren’t allowed to show emotion because it is a form of weakness. They are taught that certain activities, colors, jobs, and so much more are gender specific. As a man, you are expected to act in a way that may not give you the freedom to express yourself without ridicule because it would mean you weren’t “being a man”. If you feel like you are struggling to get in touch with your emotions during your recovery journey, reach out to Spero Recovery at (303) 351-7888 for more information today. Our program is designed to break the stigma of being a man and teach you how to express what you are feeling.
