Do men with anxiety issues pull away when they are in a dark cloud?

I can't speak for anyone else, but that's exactly what I do. 

If I'm in a bad place, I want everyone to leave me alone. Mostly because I don't want to drag anyone else into it, because I know that people that care for me will be adversely affected. The irony being, cutting myself off is just as hurtful/concerning, but my mindset is so set on isolating myself. 

Ultimately, someone to confide in and talk to would help, but sometimes it just seems far too daunting, complicated and pointless. 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I do know of a few people that are similar, male and female. But I can't really advise how to approach your friend. I know the more someone tries to push to help me, the harder and more vicious I can be in pushing them away. And I always regret it. It's not a good place to be, for anyone but at the end of the day, one has to help oneself before someone else can help. 

Quite likely.   But this is not a professional medical site

Most people with a mental illness pull away when they are in a dark place.. it's not gender specific.  Meds and therapy can only do so much.

My niece has severe depression & anxiety and she's only 14.  She will post some sad and sometimes disturbing stuff on social medial when she's in a dark place but I worry more bout her when she is silent.  When she is expressing things that tells me she's coping with it in her own way.  When she's not that means she's just alone in her thoughts and that's the time someone with severe mental illness is most likely to harm their self.  She's not violent towards others, her issues are hurting herself.

She has this instagram account she posts in a journal like format she thinks I don't know about, but I check it daily because that lets me know when/if she needs additional help.