Dean Pohlman

As men, we’ve been discouraged to give our emotions the validation they deserve. Instead of confronting issues, we avoid them by turning into workalcoholics or exercise junkies. While these can be beneficial activities, they cause your emotions to bubble behind the scenes… Until you unleash them at the worst possible times.

But there’s a better way to manage uncomfortable feelings like stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, so you actually overcome them.

Something devastating happened to you when you turned seven years old.

You figured out your default state of being and thinking and trapped yourself in a “mind matrix.” Inside this “mind matrix,” your ego formed, your defense mechanisms solidified, and you started living the rest of our lives on autopilot.

This happens to everyone, not just you, but the problem is, relying on defense mechanisms you formed when you were a child makes it easy to self-sabotage in adulthood.

Despite never having easier access to other people, men today are lonelier than perhaps any other point in history.

We don’t deeply connect with each other. We don’t share our struggles in a vulnerable way. And it comes with the steep cost of loneliness, stress, overwhelm, and other mental health issues.

But there’s not a more effective way to overcome acute mental problems than by sharing your struggles with other men. I realized this last week when I was freaking out about everything. I didn’t want to share my worries with my wife, but not talking about them gave them more power.