By Sydd Thompson
As humans, when told that we can’t do something, it is natural to rebel. The only reason we choose to do certain things in life is simply because we were told that we can’t do it. We believe things. The more we are told we can’t amount to anything, we start to believe it.
Men today are held up to such high expectations, we are afraid to fail. We are afraid of letting someone down. In this society we are told that it’s not ok to show weakness or emotions, that we are lesser of a man if we do. Our pride prevents us from showing to much emotion in fear that the world may see it.
As a man I can speak from personal experience, we feel that we have to stay strong for everyone else. It doesn’t matter how badly we are hurting or how broken we are, we must wake up every morning and put on our tough guy mask on. If you were to check the suicide rates today in 2020, you would be surprised to see the difference in numbers between men and women.
I am here as a man to let the world know it is absolutely OK to not be OK.
It is normal as a human to show emotions or to show signs of weakness, it is ok to be sad, mad, or heartbroken. It is ok to cry. We should not have to hide our emotions from the world. Sadness is a natural emotion just like happiness and anger. Times have changed a lot since I was born in 1985. Being raised in the 90s was a completely different world than being raised in the 2010s. As a young boy, growing up on the chicken houses, working before and after school, then moving with another parent and having the freedom that I didn’t need, I was taught that only wimps or punks cried or showed sentiments. I remember my stepdads words, “stop being a little puss!” He was a tough guy, or so I thought as a kid. He was just afraid or was taught that he couldn’t show certain emotions.
I say all of this to let all of the men know that you aren’t alone in this world, don’t follow society’s standards. I could only hope and dream that my daughter finds a man that is in tune with his emotions. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to open up to someone, open
up.
Be you!
Only you can be you. Having the capability to show weakness or sadness is the strongest thing a man could ever do. Let us as humans spread the love and spread the word to all men.
IT IS OK TO NOT BE OK!!
Save a life, check on your men.
More information and prevention resources in the following links.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
Citations