Renowned author, relationship coach, and Urban Magazine contributor Michelle Annaléise Coles has passionately crafted a powerful, uplifting letter to honor Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. You can learn more about her at https://annaleiseaffirms.com/ and purchase her critically acclaimed book, “Unapologetically You: The Path to Unshakable Self-Love (Paperback).”
Dear Men,
Some of y’all been carrying worlds on your back for years,
Smiling through pressure, swallowing pain, hiding tears.
Taught to be solid, taught to be strong,
Told if you break down, somehow that makes you wrong.
So you suffer in silence with a weight nobody sees,
Fighting battles in your mind while still trying to keep the peace.
Showing up for your children, your partner, your crew,
Making sure everybody good while neglecting you.
Some nights you stare at the ceiling, wide awake in the dark,
Trying to hold everything together while falling apart.
The bills, the stress, the expectations, the fight,
The pressure of being everybody’s strength every night.
And truth be told, some of y’all tired as hell,
But keep saying “I’m good” because that’s the story you sell.
This month ain’t about pretending you got it all figured out,
It’s about letting that hurt have somewhere to come out.
Because strength ain’t suffering until your spirit breaks,
Strength is asking for help before it’s too late.
Strength is honesty. Strength is truth.
Strength is admitting life gets heavy for you.
So to every man carrying pain behind his grin,
To every man fighting battles nobody knows he’s in,
I see you.
Your feelings matter.
Your mental health matters.
Your life matters.
And you don’t have to carry the whole damn world by yourself.
June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Check on the men who always say they’re okay. Sometimes they’re carrying more than they’ll ever say.
– Míchelle Annalèise Coles
