Emotional Withdrawal Is One of the Biggest “Battles Men Face,” Says Best-Selling Author Dr. Gregory Jantz in Latest Book

EDMONDS, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Men and women fight different “battles of the mind,” writes internationally known author and psychologist Dr. Gregory Jantz in his new book Battles Men Face, and among the most common struggles men deal with is resisting their tendency to withdraw emotionally – something that can be particularly frustrating and incomprehensible to the women in their lives.

“Men typically react to a crisis by withdrawing into themselves”

Battles Men Face is the latest title from Dr. Jantz, who has written many books on emotional well-being, mental health and family relationships, including the best-selling Hope, Help and Healing for Eating Disorders. Dr. Jantz is the founder and director of The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, a residential treatment facility in Edmonds, Wash., hosts a radio show in the Seattle area, and has appeared numerous times in national media.

Dr. Jantz says that in times of stress, or when they feel threatened by circumstances, most men seem programmed to “pull back” rather than to talk about their fears and feelings. This reaction can confound, concern and sometimes anger their wives and girlfriends, especially since most women have the exact opposite tendency – in times of trouble, women usually want to get more engaged emotionally, and to work out problems through conversation and sharing feelings.

“Men typically react to a crisis by withdrawing into themselves,” explains Dr. Jantz. “You can call it ‘shutting down’ or ‘checking out’ – it’s even been referred to as ‘cave dwelling’ – but men seem to have a natural need for silence and solitude to work out life’s problems.”

Some withdrawal for processing and reflection can be healthy and necessary to a point, says Dr. Jantz, and women should learn not to take it personally. However, men need to understand that extreme and prolonged emotional withdrawal isn’t healthy for them or for their relationships.

Dr. Jantz says that he wrote Battles Men Face to give men “strategies to win the war within,” including not only the battle against inappropriate emotional withdrawal but also against other temptations common to men such as anger, absorption in work, excessive competitiveness, overindulgence in food and alcohol, sexual addiction and viewing pornography. Battles Men Face can be ordered directly from The Center’s website.