Men and their Mental Health
“Men have shame… deep shame but when we reach out and tell our stories, we get the emotional shit beat out of us. My wife… my daughters… even most my friends would rather me die on top of my white horse than watch me fall off.”
“Our singular, suffocating expectation is we cannot be perceived as weak. The perception of weakness is often very shaming.”
“They say ‘be afraid’. They say ‘share your vulnerability’. ‘Open up’.
However, the truth is they cannot stomach it. The truth is that when I am very vulnerable, when I am in fear, when I am angry when I talk about it, it can permanently change the dynamics of our relationship.”
‘I want you to be open… I want there to be intimacy, but I don’t want you to go there.’
“Show me a someone who can sit with a man in real vulnerability, in deep fear and be with him in it, I will show you someone who has done their work and does not derive their power from that man”.
Men and their Mental Health
Men and their mental health struggles can look different.
‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ ‘I’m angry all the time,’ ’I drink, snort, pop, inject, or smoke to cope,’ ’I can carry it all on my own,’ ’Fuck it… I don’t need anyone or anything. Why did I do/say that… AGAIN?!’
These are ways that our struggles can reveal themselves. A struggling man can work every day, smile to his family and/or friends, and put up a front when a storm is going on inside.
“What is the fucking point in complaining… nothing will change and no one will take care of me.” Outside, we are calm, but on the inside, there is a ticking time bomb.
The world is tough for men; they are not getting the help they need. Suicide, depression, addiction, divorce, homelessness, and being estranged from their families and friends can all be devastating consequences of this.
We need someone who will listen, who is not afraid of our anger or power, and who can suggest ways to improve our lives.
Labeling Young Men as Toxis is Harmful
