Member-only story
8 Things Men Say When They're Emotionally Confused
The language of avoidance, fear, and half-love.
Men are not mysterious. They're just bad at translating. When a guy is emotionally confused, he doesn't say "I'm scared" or "I don't know how to need you." He says other shit. Shit that sounds like it means something else. And because women are usually better at this stuff, you try to translate his garbage into real feelings.
You give him the benefit of the doubt. You assume there's depth under the noise.
Most of the time there isn't. Most of the time he's just a guy with a nervous system he doesn't understand, saying words he heard in a movie or read on a Reddit thread.
"I need space."
"I don't know what I want."
"You're too good for me."
These aren't insights. They're escape hatches. They're the verbal equivalent of a fire alarm. He pulls them because he doesn't know what else to do and the feeling is too loud.
The thing about emotionally confused men is, the confusion isn't about you. It's never about you. It's about him running into a feeling that doesn't fit the masculine script he's been given, and instead of naming it, he throws words at it like darts.


