The Pride of Mental Health

 

As we have come up to the month of June. First thing I want to say is goodness, we have really flown by this year. It doesn't really seem like it has been 6 months. Yet here we are. First thing that comes to my mind is that Summer is almost among us. Which is going to be the god-awful heatwaves in Texas. Which I will not be around outside much for it supposed to be one of the hottest on record. 

Also, what occurs in June is Pride Month. Now, I have been an ally of the LGBTQ community for a long time and shall always stand in the front for them. And I wish each and every one of those people have a wonderful and awesome time and celebration of their unique awesomeness. 

But June is also a month of something that really gets lost in the shuffle of the rainbows and handholding and good cheers. June is also Men's Mental Health Awareness Month. Something for years has been so ignored by the masses. You hardly heard a wink of it on the news, or social media. If you do, it's usually by men who talk about it being not even mentioned or ridiculed. However, in March which is Women's Mental Health Awareness Month, it gets center billing. Now I am all for the mental health and well-being for one and all. But why is one given such recognition while the other isn't even mentioned or worse off not even spoken. 

Let's be honest the state of mental health for men in this country is on the wrong side of hilarious. Especially when so many of the stats that gets ignored:

• Over four times as many men as women die by suicide in the U.S.
• Suicide rates increased by 36% between 2000 to 2021
• Suicide accounted for 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is approximately one death every 11 minutes
• An estimated 12.3 million adults in the U.S. seriously considered suicide in 2021, with 3.5 million planning a suicide attempt and 1.7 million attempting suicide
• Provisional data suggests that nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. died by suicide in 2022, which is a 3% increase from 2021
• Suicide rates declined for men ages 34 and younger in 2022 and increased in males ages 35 and older[
• For women, suicide rates declined for those aged 24 and younger in 2022 and increased for those 25 and older

the CDC reports that LGBTQ+ men are more likely to have mental health conditionsTrusted Source than their straight and cis counterparts, while adults with disabilities are almost five times as likelyTrusted Source to report frequent mental health distress than adults without disabilities.

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, or BIPOC, men are just as likely to have mental health conditions as white men but have less access to mental health care. They’re more likely to need to rely on community support in place of (rather than in addition to) mental health professionals.

Sadly, things like this shall be always ignored. I'm a person who has big issues with mental health and many times people will say ooh whatever and I guess it just something men will endure.

So in essence

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH Everyone...

SAW