Men and women operate differently in more than just the physical sense. When upset, women are more likely to express their feelings directly, and they often resort to seeking emotional (or sometimes, mental) support from close friends and family members.
Some women need constant communication and reassurance to help get them through difficult times.
Men, however, might want to hide their emotions or withdraw, so much so that they might come off as emotionally distant or cold. This makes them quite the complicated creature to understand. Here are some reasons why men tend to hide their feelings:
1. Vulnerability.
If your man is unable or unwilling to open up, it could be because he is reluctant to bare his soul and talk about his inner feelings. Talking about inner feelings requires exposing emotions, dreams, hopes, and even fears. This would often leave a person feeling vulnerable. Some men would rather cling to their innermost feelings and would much rather keep to themselves for the fear of looking like a “sissy” for so easily voicing his feelings.
2. Less emotional.
We don’t know this for a fact but we can roughly gauge (based on experience) that women tend to think nothing of sharing their deepest feelings with the man they love. It comes naturally to women and they have no qualms about sharing their lives! Women are highly emotional and would want to reveal their heart’s desires as quickly as possible. However, men, on the other hand, tend to flinch at the thought of spilling their thoughts to anyone – not even friends, let alone the woman in his life. Men tend to be less emotional (if they can help it) and more reserved.
3. Independence.
Whether it is because of upbringing or just following an age-old tradition of the genders, men often feel that they need to be self-reliant. This means that it comes naturally to them to want to feel independent and “strong”. Hence, the thought of unleashing or unburdening his deepest feelings and insecurities would make him just as weak as any other woman.
4. Trust.
It’s always fairly easy for women (who aren’t naturally introverts) to share with each other. Women often go with their gut feeling and instincts. Hey, if a woman feels like talking and sharing, chances are, she will. No matter whom the listener is. Men, on the other hand, often find that they need to be able to trust the listener first. If a man trusts a woman enough to let her know everything about him, then he will open up and bare his soul. Otherwise, don’t count on him to breathe a word about how he feels.
5. Confidence.
Believe it or not, they too need reassurance sometimes. Just as a man needs to first trust a woman implicitly and wholeheartedly to be able to open up, he also needs to be convinced of your feelings. Men are naturally more reluctant to give themselves away because they need to know that in doing so, they will not feel rejected. Hence, he needs to be convinced and have confidence that a woman loves him and trusts him back before opening up.
Also, men might not always be able to identify what they’re feeling or be able to articulate them well. Words don’t come easy so don’t blame them for feeling uncomfortable about talking to you or anyone else about how they feel.
