"It’s not something you are meant to have”: Exploring young men’s anxiety. A small-scale pilot reflexive thematic analysis of one UK focus group

Young men’s experiences of anxiety remain underexplored within mental health research, despite evidence that a substantial proportion report elevated distress. Recent national data indicate that around 30 per cent of men experience heightened anxiety, yet studies focusing exclusively on young men are scarce. This pilot study addresses this by exploring how young men describe anxiety in everyday life and how distress becomes identifiable and expressible in their social contexts. Methods: An online focus group was conducted with five young men aged 19 to 24, recruited through a UK Young Advisor network. A semi structured interview schedule guided the discussion, and reflexive thematic analysis (RTA)interpreted shared meanings in the data. The study took place during a period of heightened population anxiety following the COVID 19 pandemic, which formed part of the wider context for participants’ accounts. Findings: Three interconnected themes were developed. Silencing men’s anxiety describes how stigma, gendered expectations and anticipated judgement discouraged acknowledgement and disclosure. Literacy gaps for anxiety describe limited shared vocabulary and uncertainty about recognising or explaining distress. Stigma and barriers to help seeking describe experiences of dismissal, misrecognition and unclear support routes that made anxiety less visible and harder to communicate. Conclusion: Participants reported internalised shame, misrecognition, and insufficient support from families and professionals. The findings suggest that counsellors, psychotherapists and youth mental health practitioners may need to attend to indirect anxiety, gendered shame and young men's everyday distress language. Improved emotional literacy within families, educational settings, and services may support earlier recognition. As a small pilot study, this work offers initial insight into young men’s accounts of anxiety and highlights the value of further research with more diverse samples.