My father is from the Silent Generation and will be 91 this year. Unfortunately, he never learned how to enjoy life. Everything has been about work. People tried many times to help him develop hobbies, but he just couldn't adopt a wider world view. Even after he retired, he couldn't go out and have some fun. Also, he is emotionally distant to everyone, including himself. It is sad to see such a capable person live such a restricted life.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Caroline! I experienced the same things with my grandfathers. They ended up quite alone and closed off from everyone, except my grandmothers who were taking care of them, which was unfair. I really don’t want to end up that way and am doing this work to help more men avoid that. I’m sorry you have to go through that with your father. It sounds very frustrating and sad.
I felt the same way about the underlying theme of exposing the dangers (to men and women) of toxic expectations of masculinity. Do you happen to have more information about the study on suicidal thoughts and body image? The link seems to be broken. Thanks.
My father is from the Silent Generation and will be 91 this year. Unfortunately, he never learned how to enjoy life. Everything has been about work. People tried many times to help him develop hobbies, but he just couldn't adopt a wider world view. Even after he retired, he couldn't go out and have some fun. Also, he is emotionally distant to everyone, including himself. It is sad to see such a capable person live such a restricted life.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Caroline! I experienced the same things with my grandfathers. They ended up quite alone and closed off from everyone, except my grandmothers who were taking care of them, which was unfair. I really don’t want to end up that way and am doing this work to help more men avoid that. I’m sorry you have to go through that with your father. It sounds very frustrating and sad.
I discuss the idea of being a provider and what it took for me to unlearn this.
https://amijangos.substack.com/p/unlearning-provider-a-journey-to?r=2qkedu
I felt the same way about the underlying theme of exposing the dangers (to men and women) of toxic expectations of masculinity. Do you happen to have more information about the study on suicidal thoughts and body image? The link seems to be broken. Thanks.
I didn’t realize it was specific to the UK: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/about-us/news/millions-men-uk-affected-body-image-issues-mental-health-foundation-survey#:~:text=More%20than%20one%20in%20ten,because%20of%20body%20image%20issues.
Thanks for the link. Based on other data I've seen, I imagine the findings are fairly applicable across other "western" cultures.