What did my friend mean when he said that THEY DIDN'T TEACH HIM HOW TO EXPRESS HIS

[*more than words*]

EMOTIONS? he's a friend I grew up with, he's kind of my half-cousin.
he says his girlfriend might leave him because he's not
showing her how he feels, but then he goes that they didn't
teach him how to express his emotions.. what does that mean ?

I've heard that before

[Keisha Baby!]

often, when parents are subjectively and objectively raising their child to be consistent with their respective gender, boys are kinda taught not to show emotions and girls are encouraged to show emotions by being rewarded/encouraged about different things. that's how society portrays men and women...so i guess it means that he not rewarded for showing emotion early on in life...so showing emotion doesnt come natural to him...

[crazykd10]

ask him..most likely that hes not showing how he feels about things

[Sonjaya H]

Talk to him and make him unscrew his bottle of emotions.Pretty soon they will explode and man he'll never know how to say what he feels.If you talk to him and help him,then maybe YOU'LL save his relationship.

[Jessy]

Your parents are the main influences in your life.....they help or hinder your growth, both emotionally and physically. When a person in emotionally stunted, it's hard to express their emotions to another person, no matter how strong those emotions may be. They are incapable of turning those feelings into words or actions. Most of the time it stems back to the parents, and what was, or wasn't accepted in the home. If a parent never shows affection, or doesn't allow the child to show it either, it stunts their growth. Everything you know, someone had to teach you.... no teacher, no lesson, no knowledge.

[Sango!]

His parents or the people who he was around most probably didn't express their emotions and he picked up that it's good to hide what you're feeling instead of showing it.

[Jay]

Perhaps his parents never talked to him about anything growing up, so he does not know how to tell people what he is felling. He may keep everything bottled up. Over time this bottled up pressure can just explode and be very agressive, which could be a major relationship issue.

[Garry M]

I liked Sango!'s answer; those whom he was around most growing up probably encouraged him to bottle up his emotions.