The simple truth is that guys are afraid of getting hurt. They may have experienced it in the past and are trying to avoid it in the future. They fear that by showing their feelings too quickly, they will scare away their partners or destroy what they have with them if things don't work out.
In a relationship certain people can identify as "avoidant," meaning they have a tendency to shield their feelings from their partner. The reason behind this behavior is firstly to avoid burdening a loved one with personal worries, and secondly to self-protect from vulnerability.
“Surface acting” refers to the type of emotional communication that involves covering up your true feelings while you put on a false front. Typically, in surface acting, you're trying to cover up such negative emotions as anger or frustration because expressing them would get you in trouble.
Impassive, Deadpan, stolid, catatonic. These are some of the great words to describe a person who hide/her emotions.
Contextual factors including relationships with one's conversation partner, social capital (class) differences, location, and social setting are all reasons why an individual would express, suppress, or mask an emotion.
Some women just don't know how to say how they feel. They might be afraid to hurt your feelings or to be rejected, so they hide their emotions. You can help them out of this issue by being patient and understanding but also by being clear about what you want and being honest about who you are.
Although it may not feel comfortable or “safe” to express one's emotions, suppressing, suffocating or hiding feelings can harm one's mental health. It can lead to harmful behaviours such as using drugs, alcohol, food, or sex to numb any emotion.
His behavior is inconsistent
Another way to tell that he is probably fighting feelings for you is if his behavior is inconsistent. He may be flirtatious and showing off one minute, then acting all awkward and shy the next. Or he may be attentive and then suddenly ignore you.
The simple truth is that guys are afraid of getting hurt. They may have experienced it in the past and are trying to avoid it in the future. They fear that by showing their feelings too quickly, they will scare away their partners or destroy what they have with them if things don't work out.
As emotions such as fear and sadness are generally not as accepted, men might try to hide these from themselves and those around them. They feel that they should be able to cope on their own. Individuals might try to cope with 'negative' emotions in one or more of the following ways: Withdrawing from family and friends.
He's afraid you won't feel the same way
Another reason why a guy likes you but hides it is he's scared that you don't feel the same way. Nobody likes rejection. And if he's a little shy or low in confidence already, he might struggle to voice his feelings out of fear of looking like a fool and getting hurt.
He leans toward you during conversation.
People tend to naturally lean toward people they like in conversation, according to Battle. If the guy you like tends to lean his face in closer to yours while he's talking to you or listening to you talk, that's a good sign that he might be into you. 2.
Look out for body language cues that signal that he is uncomfortable or disinterested in your interactions. He may try to move away from you, cross his arms in front of him, or turn away from you while you are talking. He may also try to avoid physical contact, like a hug or you touching his arm, he is not interested.
Most of the time, the simplest answer to why he denies liking you is that he's not ready to be in any kind of relationship. This could be the case wherein he likes you, but he doesn't want to date or be in a relationship with you for some reason.
“Suppressing your emotions, whether it's anger, sadness, grief or frustration, can lead to physical stress on your body. The effect is the same, even if the core emotion differs,” says provisional clinical psychologist Victoria Tarratt.
Decreasing your outward expression of felt emotions is called emotion suppression. Many adults are very good at suppressing their emotions and do it frequently in their day-to-day lives in order to avoid controversy or in order to stay within social norms.
If the girl likes you, she will be more considerate towards your choices, likes, and dislikes. If she smiles a lot, it means your humor and little quips please her and make her happy. Another subtle sign is she remembers the little details you may have shared with her. It is a way to show that she cares about you.
Some people pull away when they catch feelings. The reasons women pull away are often similar to the reasons men pull away in relationships. If a man or woman pulls away when they catch feelings habitually and without any other reason, it's likely that they're experiencing avoidant attachment.
Signs of Masking
If you notice that you tend to look to others before deciding what to do in various situations, you might be masking by mimicking their behavior. If you do not feel like these choices come naturally to you, and you instead try to copy what you see, you might be masking your social behavior.
He'll stand close to you. He might place his hands on you casually, like touching your arm or your shoulder when laughing at a joke. “A guy who holds your hand or puts his arm around you is showing interest. We don't tend to touch people we don't like, so touch can be an indication of attraction.”