“Being a man” can start as an external stigma because your family members, friends, and males in your life are all pushing their beliefs onto you. These external stigmas can become internal when you start believing the negative comments and attitudes being thrown at you. External is when others push their opinions and beliefs onto you, and make you feel negatively if you don’t fit them. This can lead to you thinking negatively about yourself and lowering your self-esteem.
Internal is your personal view about yourself because of external forces.
Stigmas are often separated into internal and external stigmas. Spero Recovery’s men’s recovery program understands this and works to break this stigma and help you get in touch with your emotions. The stigma of “being a man” hinders progression, especially when trying to overcome substance use disorder (SUD). This includes showing emotions and expressing yourself. If you don’t like those things or want to try something else, you are ridiculed for doing “girly” things. Men are taught that certain activities, colors, and more are manly things to participate in.
