CRYING AND SHOWING EMOTION DOESNT MAKE YOU WEAK…IT MAKES YOU HONEST

 
Many of us were raised with the mentality that men shouldn’t show emotion, men dont cry, men keep everything inside. Well, I will say firsthand, that is complete and utter bullshit. Not just from personal experience but from statistics.


Statistics from 2021 show that the suicide rate for men is 4 times higher than woman. 4 TIMES! Do you still think bottling up your emotions and feelings is a positive practice?


Let me tell you. Crying is normal. Being emotional is normal. It’s a natural occurrence in the body. Crying is a release. The problem is men were taught to hold all of this in. Which in turn builds up and builds up and you are now a ticking time bomb. 


Depression and Anxiety is painful. It’s not fun, its not glamorous. In this era where social media has taken over the world we have even been taught to post the highlight reel of life. Why? To give people a false perception of life?


Do you know what posting only the highlight reel does? For anyone who is going through a hard time, or deal with mental illness and etc…they look at everyone’s highlight reel and they start to constantly question themselves and doubt themselves. “Why can’t I be normal like that”, “They have it all together, why can’t I?, “Wow this person never goes through a hard time, everything is always so happy”…You are creating a false reality for people because you never share a single down moment. 


I am not saying you have to! I am saying you will do the world more good to share your struggles as well. Show both the highlights and the struggle. Show them the REAL normal!


I went golfing the other day. Had a great time golfing. Had too much to drink after. That euphoric feeling from the alcohol wore off. I came down from the alcohol and all the anxiety, depression, sadness, irrationality and restlessness came back and heightened. Next thing you know, I am sitting in my backyard with my dog crying my eyes out and going through a very dark episode. I was happy in the sun golfing with some friends, everything was great. Then boom. Darkness.


Could have posted the highlights of the day of golf and pretended everything was perfectly normal and fine. Could have hid the darkness that followed. Hiding it wouldn’t have helped me. It wouldn’t have helped anyone going through a similar situation. Pretending my day was perfect could have alienated someone who was struggling even more.


Listen, I am not saying you HAVE to post your struggles. I am saying being real with people is much more impactful. The impact I want to have on people is that I am not perfect. I have amazing times and I have extremely dark times. I battle with mental health. it doesn’t mean I am less of a person. It doesn’t mean I am less of a man. With the power social media has, with how easy it is to reach people…I want to use it to help everyone and anyone. If that means being open and honest about my struggles then that is what I will do.






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