Men and Mental Health

There are a lot of misconceptions about men and their mental health. One of the most common misconceptions is that men don’t want to talk about their mental health and that we want to “stuff it all down” or ‘just toughen up.” The truth is most men do want to connect with someone about how they are doing. Men want to be known by at least one other person. To be known, we have to be vulnerable. Some guys learned not to be vulnerable because they have been hurt. Sometimes, our insecurity keeps us from being vulnerable, but I have found that many men have never been taught this skill. Men aren’t given the language to know how to communicate vulnerability, and so it often comes out through our actions as much as our words. Men become more vulnerable with each other and with their spouses through shared experiences than with words. The following video has been making the rounds on social media, and I think its message is good. Don’t assume you know what another person is dealing with. Be willing to take a risk and ask a question. It will matter to someone.