Hey there. It’s Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and I want to take this time to talk about something that goes way beyond stats and social posts. This is about the conversations we’re having. Not just with other people, but with ourselves.
Every time I sit down to record an episode of the podcast, I start with the same line. “Welcome to the conversation.” That’s intentional. Because we don’t need more reminders that mental health matters. We need more safe spaces where it’s okay to feel, to speak, to process... and to be heard.
If you’re a guy, I want to talk directly to you for a second. You probably weren’t taught how to name or work through your feelings. You were likely told to tough it out, push through, keep it moving. Maybe you tried to open up once or twice and it didn’t go well. People didn’t understand. Or worse, they used it against you. That experience cuts deep. And I get why you might decide never to open up again.
But here’s the thing. Emotions don’t disappear just because we don’t express them. They pile up. And eventually, they spill out. Sometimes in the form of anger. Sometimes isolation. Sometimes silence that becomes too heavy to carry. The cost of bottling it all up is far greater than the risk of starting to let it out.
For me, therapy helped. Not just because I had someone to talk to, but because it helped me recognize the blind spots I was avoiding. The hard truths I didn’t want to face. There’s a big difference between just knowing you’re struggling and actually doing the work to sort through it. That’s where real growth starts. And it doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in the quiet moments. In the in-between.
There’s also this myth that if you feel deeply or express emotion, you’re weak. But I’ll tell you what I’ve learned. Being able to sit in your feelings. To not run from them. That’s strength. That’s resilience. That’s real courage.
You may not have people in your life right now who support this part of you. That hurts. But it doesn’t mean you won’t find them. And if someone shuts you down when you try to be honest about how you feel, that’s on them... not you. It doesn’t mean you were wrong to try. It means they weren’t safe to open up to.
Some of the most powerful shifts happen when we stop avoiding our feelings and start listening to them. That might look like journaling. Taking a walk without distractions. Sitting in silence and letting your thoughts rise. I won’t pretend that’s easy. I avoided it for years. But when I finally stopped running, I started to understand who I really was.
This month isn’t just about awareness. It’s about action. It’s about having the conversations that could change everything. Not just with others. But with yourself.
So wherever you are in your journey... start the conversation.