Understanding your stress responses of fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.
“Why didn’t you honk at him?!” my wife Betsy demands, exasperated and angry with the driver who just cut us off. She would have laid on the horn but I swerved instead. Betsy’s question immediately triggers shame. Real men fight for their space. We are supposed to...
Fawning while male: breaking gender stereotypes
“You’re a Momma’s Boy!” Oh, the things we say! Why do we tell boys not to cry, not to show emotions or weakness? Are we trying to protect them? From what? One answer: a harsh world, a dog-eat-dog world. We are training Spartans who can “win the fight.” One of the...
What does human connection cost?
No one listens to me. I give up. I’m tired of trying to tell you how I feel. You don’t care what makes me sad, worried, or frustrated. These were the messages I learned growing up. They still dictate how I function most of the time. For instance, we spend...