Men Feel Too: Why Mental Health Isn’t Weakness, It’s Leadership

The Lie That’s Still Killing Men

Be strong. Be tough. Don’t cry. Don’t talk about it. Keep pushing.

It sounds like resilience. But for many men, it’s a slow form of erasure.

June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month — and for far too long, men have been told that strength means silence. That emotions are weakness. That asking for help is a failure of character.

Let’s be clear: that mindset isn’t protecting men. It’s destroying them.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health:

• Over 6 million men in the U.S. experience depression each year

• More than 1 in 5 men will experience a mental health issue in their lifetime

• Yet, men are 4x more likely to die by suicide than women

These aren’t just statistics. They’re stories, most of them untold.

My Story: Strength Isn’t What I Thought

I absolutely fucking hate that it takes a life-altering or traumatic event for people to finally ask if you’re okay. It shouldn’t take a tragedy for the people around you to notice that you’re not fine. And yet, that’s what it took for me.

I grew up fast. After losing Patrick, I didn’t get time to grieve. I didn’t get the space to fall apart. I had to carry weight that most people didn’t see, and at the time, I didn’t think I had a choice.

I was the mature one. The responsible one. The one who held it all together.

But here’s what I’ve learned: holding it all together doesn’t mean you're okay. Sometimes, it means you're simply surviving. And survival is not the same thing as wholeness.

From the outside, I looked like I was succeeding. But internally, I was detached, overloaded, and stuck in the mindset most men are taught early:

• Don’t show emotion

• Don’t ask for help

• Don’t fall apart

We’re trained to perform strength instead of process pain.

And it’s killing us.

The Cost of Performing Masculinity

The American Psychological Association has found that men are less likely than women to seek therapy, yet more likely to report substance abuse, aggression, and suicide.

We’ve confused dominance for discipline. Stoicism for self-control.

And we’re paying for it with our health, our relationships, and our lives.

Silence isn’t strength. It’s survival. And it’s not sustainable.

Real strength is honesty. Real leadership is self-awareness. Real resilience is learned when we stop pretending we’re fine and actually face what we’re feeling.

Why Men Need to Talk

Let me speak directly to the men reading this:

Your story matters.

Even if you’ve never told it. Even if you think no one would understand. Even if you think people only respect you because you’ve held it all together.

There are people in your life — friends, partners, sons, teammates — who don’t need you to be perfect. They need you to be present.

And that starts with getting honest about your internal world.

We're Not Therapists — But We Are in the Work

At Rewired Dynamics, we make it clear: we’re not therapists. We don’t pretend to be, and we don’t replace therapy.

But we are in the business of emotional truth. We help people see the misalignment in their identity, leadership, and wiring — and create tools and spaces to rebuild from what’s real.

We’ve worked with men who’ve achieved everything externally but were silently battling burnout, shame, and emotional exhaustion.

What they needed wasn’t another productivity hack.
They needed a place to stop pretending.

And that’s what we built Forge for. That’s what tools like The Burn Map help uncover — the stuff you’ve buried because you thought no one would get it.

We’re not here to fix you. But we will help you finally be honest about what you’re carrying.

What Help Looked Like For Me

I won’t pretend therapy saved my life. The truth is, I went once and I didn’t go back.

Not because it wasn’t valuable, but because I wasn’t ready to be there.

What has changed my life is the work I get to do now, with Rewired Dynamics, with Unbar, and with people who finally allow me to live fully as myself.

I’ve learned how to communicate what’s going on in my head. I’ve learned how to lead from truth. I’ve learned that being real about how I’m feeling is far more courageous than faking my way through it.

And while therapy is powerful and I always encourage others to explore it, know this:

Sometimes the first step isn’t a session. Sometimes, it’s simply being honest with yourself.

If you’ve been putting it off, let this be your sign. Therapy isn’t weakness. It’s courage. It’s leadership. It’s liberation.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please use the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s free, confidential, and available 24/7.

📞 Call or text 988 https://988lifeline.org

This Month, Choose More Than Awareness

Choose action.

• Text a friend.

• Write it down.

• Make the appointment.

• Tell your story.

Because being a man doesn't mean carrying it alone. It means learning to carry it honestly.