F**K Men's Mental Health Awareness Month

It’s June of 2025, and you should know what that means. What? I’m glad you asked because I am willing and eager to answer. It’s Men’s Mental Health Awareness month. Yep, it’s the month in which men like myself can say, ‘I’m not doing too well. I’m not feeling this crap.’ and many more statements that may help another person infer that a man’s mental health is in shambles. However, I don’t necessarily feel that we (men) can honestly and truly say those things. Why? Well, let’s get into it, shall we.

First and foremost, men, it's partially on us. We’re faulted, in my opinion, because we don’t allow enough space for each other to be vulnerable without casting judgement or feeling inferior to our male counterparts when we voice these mental health disparities. As a brother or having a male-to-male interaction with someone voicing his feelings, we must be receptive to listen. We must reassure one another that it’s okay and relate, only after listening wholeheartedly to the brother voicing the mental health disparity. Lastly, we must offer a solution or reassurance to help that brother know he’s been listened to and can make it through. Now, I must add that when we get to the solution step we must lead with open-endedness to help the brother devise a plan to obtain peace of mind.

Secondly, as much as women try to provide that space for us to be mental health conscious and comfortable, the responsibility can never solely be theirs and fall in their hands. Women can’t provide the space we need in its entirety because they are not males and do not know the full spectrum of what a male deals with daily. It’s like us talking to women about how to be a woman and telling them it’s this simple, but we’d be totally wrong, because it’s not that simple. We don’t know how it feels as a small girl growing lady parts to be constantly sexualized and salivated over. So, how can women tell us that the pressures of life that we feel are easy to overcome, and that breeds misunderstanding and confusion. Yes, if you can handle the woman listening and assisting, then go ahead and confide in her, but if you can’t look to a brother or man who you don’t feel will cast you to the wolves.

What are some of the thought processes that keep a lot of men feeling mentally drained? A man is to provide and as much as we try to break the stigma, it's deeply ingrained into the DNA of a MAN. When we can’t, then we feel like we’ve failed. A man is supposed to lead the family, but he’s never been thoroughly taught or seen a great example besides what media portrays, and media is very much so programming and not showing the real. As a man, I’ve had a rough day or week, but who can I vent to without judgement. As a man, I’ve been screwed over time and time again in love, business, etc., so I have trust issues. As a man, I have undiagnosed trauma, disease, mental states, and I am not given the grace, space or help needed to treat this imbalance.

Yes, we are happy that we get a month. It’s something right. Be grateful. However, a month is not enough. When this month is over, do men have to suck it up and “Be A MAN” or is vulnerability going to be accepted? Coming from a man, I believe we’d have to suck it up in the eyes of the world. Nothing changes overnight, that I understand, so we mustn't rest on just having this month be our only outlet for men. Everyday Brothers/Men our mental health matters, and it’s on us to make it a priority. Contrary to popular belief, there is somebody that will listen. Is it a work and process to find that person? Yes. Someone is out there.

Try journaling or blogging to get some of the clutter out of your head. Blogging, not so much, if you want to be private about the information that bothers you, but journaling is a game changer for sure. It allows you to look over what you wrote and internalize it and, when you do find that person that is willing to listen, you will be able to vocalize it accordingly. I’m grateful for the people that you find that will listen and not cast judgement- “The Homies” . I remember earlier in this week being honest with my spouse, who’s “The Homie”, that my mental health was at a 3 on a scale of 1-10 and 10 being the healthiest. She helped me by listening. I remember earlier this week having a talk with my “Homie” from ‘Sippi’ and telling her that I’m tired in a sense. She listened diligently and offered relativity and solutions for both of our situations. I spoke with ‘The Homie’ Big Ray and voiced concerns, and he addressed them and even brought laughter, which was needed. Moral to this story is that there's someone who is in your corner that will help you uplift from the dark ental spots that we’re in from time to time, but it’s on us as men to not shutter away and close down.

Our mental health as men is important all day, everyday. We have to make it an obligation to seek help and find those better vices to help cope, like coaching sports, fishing, exercising, calling the homie. It’s easy for us to shut out, pick up the bottle or recreational drugs, but that’s not been the answer and never will be. So, cheers to this month, be happy and vocal, but after this month don’t take your foot off the gas and let your mental health fall by the wayside because you’re a Man and “Man Up”. You man up by speaking up and dealing with the problems at hand. Seek out those that’ll help.