“I Feel Abused by My Own Mind”: Themes of Control in Men’s Online Accounts of Living With Anxiety

Abstract

Men’s experiences with anxiety are under-researched and poorly understood. Existing research gives little indication of how men talk about anxiety in situ, and little is known about how men describe their experiences of anxiety. Online discussion forums provide an opportunity to conduct naturalistic observations of how men describe their experiences with anxiety without the influence of a researcher. Thematic analysis, informed by principles of discursive psychology, was used to examine 130 opening posts to an online anxiety discussion forum. One superordinate theme, where anxiety is constructed as a loss of control, was identified. Analysis of this overarching theme generated three themes relating to how posters described a loss of control: (a) anxiety as an immobilizing force, (b) anxiety as an independent entity, and (c) anxiety as a dualist construction of the self. Our analysis has clear implications for developing and improving interventions for men experiencing anxiety.

‘I know you shouldn't compare to other people, but I can’t do anything most people can’: Age, family and occupation categorisations in men’s reasoning about their anxiety in an online discussion forum

“…These constructions might function also, for example, to communicate men's suffering. Indeed, such additional functions of opening posts within the current data set have been explored further in other studies (see, e.g., Drioli‐Phillips, Oxlad, Feo et al, 2020; Drioli‐Phillips, Oxlad, LeCouteur et al, 2021). Further, the recurrent orientation to age, work and family and the orientation towards deviance and normality might also be shaped by the community norms of the forum, rather than being representative of the performance of masculinity and anxiety more generally.…”

“…One study (Gough, 2016), an investigation of an online depression forum, has investigated men's online talk about their mental health. To our knowledge, there exist only two studies (Drioli‐Phillips, Oxlad, Feo, et al, 2020; Drioli‐Phillips, Oxlad, LeCouteur, et al, 2021), which investigate men's experiences of anxiety. In the first of those studies, Drioli‐Phillips and colleagues examine how men orient to notions of control within their accounts of living with anxiety.…”

Engendered Expressions of Anxiety: Men’s Emotional Communications With Women and Other Men

“…Establishing shared ground and trust within an all-male social group may be an effective way to encourage men to speak more directly and openly about their emotions and mental wellbeing. Research on men’s use of online forums to discuss sensitive issues has also suggested trust as an important factor in men’s delayed help-seeking in face-to-face contexts and as a facilitator of men’s disclosure and discussion of a range of topics, from depression ( Gough, 2016 ) and anxiety Drioli-Phillips et al (2020a) , Drioli-Phillips et al (2020b) , to body image and eating disorders ( Flynn and Stana, 2012 ). Indeed, it appears that establishing trust or “safe spaces” may be vital in a range of contexts, both homosocial and otherwise, to encourage men to engage with emotional topics and to disclose any mental health and wellbeing concerns.…”

“…For example, certain online environments like discussion forums can enable men to (anonymously) share their distress and receive support from peers with similar experiences e.g., depression, infertility (e.g., Gough, 2016 ; Hanna and Gough, 2016 ). In fact, recent research by Drioli-Phillips et al (2020a) , Drioli-Phillips et al (2020b) has examined how men talk to each other about anxiety online and highlights the importance of presenting credible accounts, with anxiety characterised as loss of control.…”

The Mental Health Effects of Cumulative Lifetime Violence in Men: Disruptions in the Capacity to Connect with Others and Finding Ways to Reengage

“…The current study extends these findings by illuminating that, despite feelings of fear and reluctance to seek help, men with CLV wanted others’ help. Understanding the paradox of men’s fears and desires for help might motivate service providers to engage men in gender-sensitive ways by asking about their CLV experiences ( Drioli-Philips et al, 2020 ).…”