Even with the end of Men’s Health Month, we continue the journey to a mentally healthy nation, if not a world.
We read and hear about statistics each day and we are well aware of the crippling effect of mental health and how we lose our men to suicide and some go unreported.
This does not suggest that we don’t lose women and children through suicide, it only means that men are 4 times likely to commit suicide and it is our collective responsibility to see things change for the better.
The question is how? I’d love to look at it this way; we need to look back to look forward. Our culture and societal norms are structures that were created long before many of us were born. And the point is not to change the system, it is to understand it and make the world more accommodating to all of us — present and future generations.
Men are taught to be strong, to protect, to provide and never show weakness. They grew up being taught that weakness, vulnerability and expressing their feelings were for women and girls. But now we want to break the cycle and tell men it is all right. It is okay to seek help.
As we introduce the talking culture in our homes, we should never forget that the only person who gets to be helped is the person who admits to wanting help. Practice self-awareness, knowing who you are, your weaknesses, your strengths, and how they relate to people and their potential. Through all this, we will be a step closer to changing the narrative
Comentários