Men don't cry: Is asking for help a sign of weakness?

In the episode "Girls Out" of the popular series Gibi, the characters Yılmaz, İlkan, and Ersoy, after a girls' night out with their boyfriends, become anxious about the possibility of conversations that could damage their image. This triggers feelings of jealousy, anxiety, and insecurity in the series' lead male characters. However, none of them openly express these feelings; they bottle them up, dismiss them with sarcasm, or react angrily. The episode humorously demonstrates how, despite the inner struggles men face, they often avoid openly expressing them and seeking support.

These reactions strikingly reflect men's hesitation to seek psychological help. Men, influenced by both their temperament and cultural and societal expectations, learn to suppress their emotions and avoid seeking help. This general tendency, specific to male identity, is perhaps even more pronounced in our country: Despite the increasing awareness of mental health in Türkiye, there are still significant differences between men and women in seeking psychological support. Research shows that women's rates of seeking psychological help are nearly twice as high as men's. For example, it was determined that 61 percent of those seeking psychological counseling in 2023 were women, while 39 percent were men. This clearly demonstrates that socially assigned roles, expectations, and fear of stigma negatively impact men's help-seeking behavior.