Connor Beaton discusses why many men suppress grief: fear that expressing it will change or "swallow" them, uncertainty about surviving the intensity, and the cultural removal of spaces to process grief. He emphasizes the importance of finding someone trustworthy to guide the process because the experience can feel overwhelming and requires support.
A lot of men don't let their grief out because they're worried about exactly what you said. One, who will I become if I let this out? Am I going to get swallowed by it? Will I ever come out? Like, it's so deep, it's so intense, it's so much. I don't know if I'll ever come out the other side of it. So a lot of men are afraid to go into the depth of their pain and their grief simply because they're like, man, that feels so intense. I don't know if I've survived that. Grief is such an essential part of our existence that we've stripped out the spaces and places from our culture where we would normally go to do what you're saying. The second thing is a lot of men don't let their grief out because of. No one will know how to guide me in that and because it's intense. And so I would just say that in your journey, whether it's me or somebody else, find somebody that you feel really comfortable with in guiding you in that, because what you're talking about is big.
How to Raise Strong, Unshakable Boys in Today's Culture, with Dr. Shefali Tsabary
