Posted on 04/22/2007 10:20:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Conventional wisdom has long held that a strong and silent man is unlikely to ask for help when he needs it, putting him at a disadvantage when he's hurt.
Following a trauma, the theory goes that these kinds of men clam up emotionally, are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs and avoid showing they're vulnerable in any way.
But new research from the University of Missouri-Columbia shows that "manly" men may in fact benefit from sticking to this traditional notion of masculinity, particularly when it comes to recovering from serious injuries.
In Pictures: How To Kick That Spare Tire In Pictures: America's Most Luxurious Gyms The small exploratory study, published last year in the American Psychological Association's journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity, found this group showed a greater improvement from the time they were initially hospitalized to one year after they left the hospital.
"Guys who are tough or have a clear vision of what they want strive for success and status," says Glenn Good, associate professor of educational, school and counseling psychology at the University of Missouri and co-author of the study. "Maybe that gives them motivation to work harder and persist longer."
The Study
Participants in the study included 52 men, ages 18 to 91, who'd experienced traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries and were undergoing rehabilitation. The majority had a high school education and two-thirds were employed. They each responded to more than 175 questions or statements about their masculinity, attitudes toward seeking psychological assistance, abilities to perform daily tasks, barriers preventing them from doing what they want and overall life satisfaction.
Bad news at the doc's office? Here's what you need to know when you get a troubling diagnosis. The results did show, as you might expect, that those who believed men should restrict expression of their emotions were less in favor of seeking psychological help.
But there also was a connection between men who conformed to masculine norms, such as a tendency toward self-reliance and risk-taking, and those who reported fewer barriers to functioning in their communities. While the findings need further study, one possible explanation is that feeling manly helped the men overcome adversity and persevere, as though nothing could stop them from conquering a goal.
"It may help them say, 'Despite the fact that life as I knew it is over, I have this goal of being able to stand up or walk, and I want to make sure I achieve that,'" Good says.
Overcoming Injury
Irmo Marini, a professor in health sciences and human services at the University of Texas-Pan American, thinks the study is on to something.
Marini fractured his neck in 1981 at age 23 when he was playing hockey for Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. In an instant, he went from being an able-bodied athlete to being a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic. But a year after his injury, he says, he found that sense of discipline and need to succeed he'd felt as an athlete returning. For instance, because he can't fully grip with his hands, Marini ties tensor bandages around his wrists and hands to hold weights so he can lift. That stubbornness, often associated with machismo, paid off.
"It's almost like, for myself and some others I know, we've taken the physical discipline we had before our injuries and turned it into mental discipline," he says.
Marini, who has a Ph.D. in rehabilitation counseling from Auburn University, says people with military experience tend to have this sense of discipline too. He also believes the benefits of this way of thinking might extend to people with lesser injuries.
Stressed out? Click here to see why some say seeing the glass as half full can benefit your health. If you're not particularly manly, Good says it's possible that some men in rehabilitation recovering from injuries could try to pick up the behavior, since masculinity is something men learn through socialization. But he adds a note of caution.
"Being a real tough authoritarian kind of guy might be helpful on the football team, or if you're a policeman or military officer," he says. "But it also can make you a bad partner or father. Having some flexibility about when you implement this is important."
Ahhh....because it's normal?
Wow...my brilliance just overwhelms me at times.
But it’s sooo much easier to be a whining pussy like a Geico caveman.
Or John Edwards.
FYI
A real man is a good father and family man... Very few of those in the liberal ranks (IMO)... A real man spends time with his children and is loving towards them...
First Mate Spunk: Alright, please, everybody, please! Welcome aboard The Raging Queen! Now, of course, I can’t possibly introduce everybody, so you’re just going to have to wear your little name tags. And if that’s the worst thing you’ll wear on this voyage, you’re lucky. Now, before I introduce Captain Ned, there’s some quiche over here, some salad, and some banana bread in the bowl, and there should be a brie around, if someone hasn’t eaten it. And now, here is our own Captain Ned!
[ Captain Ned steps up ]
Captain Ned: Thank you, Mr. Spunk. Gentlemen, we have on board a young man whose name is Miles Cowperthwaite! And I have promised his guardian to teach him the man’s life at sea! To show him man’s ports, such as Key West and San Fransisco! I expect him to be treated manfully! Well, Miles, have you anything to say?
Miles Cowperthwaite: [ stsnds, cheerful ] Well.. I’m very grateful for this opportunity, Captain Ned! Up ‘til now, my life has been the most degrading, pathetic, soul-destroying, humiliating, awful grovel..
Captain Ned: [ interrupting ] That’s enough, Miles.. [ Miles sits ] Now, men, I run a mans’ ship. I will run it in a manful and masculine way! I will tolerate no men under my command who act in such a way so as to discredit their manhood and manliness! Do I make myself clear?
To note, my husband is very much a manly man. When he gets mad he will often not say anything to avoid making it worse. Or should I say, he does this when he's upset with me. It drives me nuts. Also he will only really cry over an injury when it's really bad.
That aside, I must laugh about the caveman comment. I was really laughing last week over the one when the caveman is talking to the doll in the psych's office. My husband just looked at me with a straight face and said, "Us cavemen don't find that humorous."
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Men are not interested in “female stuff.”
...........um, could you define “female stuff”
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
#1 reason - chicks dig a manly man
ok, I agree with you
.......but there’s other “stuff” that can be pretty interesting ie. “body parts”
And guns.
Regards
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
So you believe it's healthy to keep everything all bottled up until one becomes a basketcase, then driven to drink to excess, or kill 32 people?
OK..you go out and kill that deer but you had better make darn sure you don't bring the carcass home so us women have to deal with it's left over bodily functions,
the scrapbook pictures of you wearing it's antlers on your head,
having to listen to your emotional hooping and hollering about the big "catch"
or sending us down to the mall to buy a plaque for you to put the thing on. :)~
Just because a guy has a headful of issues and opinions and is willing to share them with either males or females, doesn't mean he's a pussy, whimp, or some mind controlled feminist robot.
Yeah, right, all men who aren’t whining crybabies are potential mass murderers, according to you? Did Oprah tell you that?
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