Dubbed the ‘silent epidemic’, suicide rates for middle aged men have increased dramatically over the past decade. Men are isolated and overwhelmed and receiving support is often fraught with challenges and stigma. Many of our clinicians focus on counseling for men and their relationships to mitigate isolation and increase support.
Often, isolated, we see men coping with life’s challenges, responsibilities, and relationships in a number of ways.
• Frequent alcohol, cocaine, or marijuana binges or consistent use despite consequences to health, finances or relationships
• Absorption and over focused with career and work to the detriment of personal relationships and health
• Persistent gambling perpetuating debt and/or distractions from other responsibilities in life
• Overwhelmed by a recent divorce, life transition, instability, or infidelity
• Out of control sexual behavior via pornography/masturbation, paid sex, or infidelity despite potential or recurrent conflicts
• Difficulties controlling anger at work, home, or in intimate relationships
• Sexual anxiety causing avoidance, premature ejaculation, or impotence
• Frequent lethargy, numbing, or feeling withdrawn in the face of increasing life demands
• Elusive sense of purpose and meaning
• Bouts of anxiety, panic, and feelings of overwhelm
Help is available and you may benefit from working with us. We provide a non-judgmental, supportive, and challenging environment, offering you the guidance and accountability to cultivate a capacity to better manage your responsibilities and your relationships.
Typically, the joy and excitement that come with being a new parent outweigh the frustration or disappointment. However, the relationship tension that often comes up under this added stress cannot be ignored.
The truth is that loss is a part of life. It is as important as love, as important as security, as important as holding on to the things we value. Accepting loss gives us the power to change. If we accept the inevitability of loss, we free ourselves to feel vulnerable. And if we free ourselves to feel vulnerable, to fear losing, then we empower ourselves to examine what must change. And when we examine what must change, we enable the possibility that we can hang on to those we love. When we change, we heal. And when we heal, we love harder and longer and better.
I think we are less tolerant of men expressing emotions; not being allowed to feel fear, failure or vulnerability. As women, we can feel locked out when they won’t “share” their feelings when truthfully many men don’t know how or don’t talk the same language. This is where therapy can help.
