June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month so today I wanted to bring some awareness to it. I’ve held off writing a post about this for a while as it’s a very sensitive topic, which is raw with grief and needs to be approached with the gentleness it deserves.
Growing up it wasn’t hard to notice that men were often told, directly or indirectly to “be strong”, “man up”, “push through” or “stop crying”.
But the truth is, silence isn’t strength. Vulnerability is. Reaching out is. Letting someone in is.
Jesus himself is the most perfect representation of a man as both fully God and fully man. And yet he wept, to the point of tears of blood forming.
If you’re reading this and you’re silently struggling, please know, you are not a burden. You are not weak for feeling pain. And your life matters!
If you feel like you are a burden to your peers or your family members, can I encourage you to talk to a leader at church, ring a help line or contact a therapist or counsellor.
🖤 If you’ve lost someone to suicide, I am so sorry. This grief is complex. There are questions we have that may never be answered. Yet through all this pain I know God is near to the broken hearted, Psalm 34:18.
Now, this is my reminder to everyone…. check in, on the men in your life, the loud ones, the quiet ones, the ones who seem ‘fine’ or even the ones who seem angry, as anger is often just a mask for another emotion. I believe that sometimes all that’s needed is someone to simply say, “How are you, really?”
And if you are that someone who needs help, don’t wait to speak up. You are not alone. There is help. There is hope. There is healing. Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
To all the men reading this, what can women and/or other men do to better support you?
Many Blessings, Grace. Xx
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