sharing people's stories #4 // Men's mental health

I feel that gender roles especially cause confusion and insecurities with regard to mental health issues. There is a certain perception that society expects people who identify as male to portray. However, this perception is an out of date generalization. As time goes on our community also changes and this expectation of society is invalid — and always was invalid, we should never be expected to be someone or something based on our identity. In my experience I was often teased for being friends with “too many girls” — why should the gender of your friends matter anyways? This caused an unnecessary insecurity for me, making me feel that I wasn’t masculine enough or that I needed to be friends with more guys. Another thing I was teased about was my voice, I have a generally higher voice than other boys and I used to be teased for this a lot. It's crazy how I was teased and insecure about a part of myself I had no way to change and no reason to change.

What you can do to help

⁃Accept all people for who they are, don’t expect people to fit a certain stereotype

⁃Normalize boys/men expressing their emotions and crying

⁃Stop asking questions or making comments that adhere to gender roles: why do you hang around so many girls, why is your voice so high

Tips for men with mental health issues

⁃Ignore toxic masculinity and gender roles

⁃Surround yourself for people who care about you for who you are

⁃Reach out to others you are comfortable with to talk about your issues

⁃Acknowledge your emotions rather than ignoring them

-anonymous