Reminder that this month is also Men's Mental Health Awareness Month as well as Pride Month.
Make sure to check on your male homies too.
Suicide is the biggest killer of males aged 18-55 (I believe that's the age range). Fuck stoicism, and fuck social stigmas that force us to keep shit bottled up as a means of "strength".
To my fellow male friends, there is no weakness in vulnerability, there is no shame in emotions, there is no unreliability in expressing mental health difficulties, as much as you may have been made to feel as such, as I have even. Don't be hollowed out by the unbelievably cruel apathy and antipathy you see on brain rot platforms by misandrist "content creators" celebrating male suicide rates (yes, this is a thing and I have seen an alarming number of these kinds of posts and videos. One is too many.)
Don't constantly keep your struggles to yourself, don't feel like you can't outwardly express the difficulties you're going through, don't feel like because of certain people you've encountered in life, certain social stigmas that have been hammered into your head, that you're better off keeping those moments of vulnerability to just yourself.
I am a failed suicide survivor and I still struggle with all of this for multiple reasons that I am still yet to come to grips with, and still struggle to reach out, even on rough nights like tonight.
It does not matter what one's circumstances are. It does not matter if you have a good job, it does not matter if you are well off, it does not matter if you are in a good place in life, it does not matter if you have a roof over your head, mental illness can strike you down no matter what your circumstances, positive or negative. Mental illness does not discriminate.
There are avenues for help, there are people in your social network who support you, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, there is always a way out. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
Message me if you feel you haven't got anyone else to turn to. I've known that feeling and it is one of the most hollow and debilitating feelings on earth. You are not alone, and never will be.
In a world of Andrew Tates, be an Aragorn. 💙