this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2023
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I'll believe that when I see it. If men were able to ask for help, we wouldn't have such high suicide rates.
First men need places to ask help of.
I know there is one man out there who has friends he talks to and also perhaps a therapist. Same as women. That guy? That semi-theoretical guy is hot. That guy knows how to communicate like you wouldn't believe.
I have friends I can talk to, a therapist, and medication.
I still have a lot of difficulty communicating what's rattling around my head, and I'm still not doing great.
Communication is the key to almost everything. Being able to have a social network you can depend on, that's a real treasure. And having a counselor to help you through mental problems is an absolute goldmine. I hope men can open their eyes to that reality without fear.
That's true, and there are more of them available today, including the national suicide hotline 988, an easy number to remember. What men need is to see that mental health is as or even more important than physical health, and that going to a "mental gym" is a cool manly thing to do (and it is). By mental gym I mean getting counseling or whatever help you need to become a better and more integrated person.
Not just that, but that goes for everyone.
Men need men only spaces. Women have women's shelters in every city in every western country.
For men, you're lucky if your country has a shelter. You're lucky if the law even recognizes you being abused as a crime.
Actually that's a good point, there SHOULD be men's only spaces. And I don't mean places where you sit around talking about antlers and scratching yourself (I do enough of that at home) but places where men can talk openly about things going on with them and their own struggles. And maybe help each other like they do in 12-step programs.
And it's not because being a man is somehow toxic, it's because many of the beliefs we have as men can make our lives toxic. It's about detoxifying ourselves and learning that life can be much richer and more enjoyable by being less worried about appearances and such.