There are 48,000+ suicides per year equalling out to approximately 132 suicides per day. This #WorldMentalHealthDay I want to take the time to remind everyone that just because men are supposed to be “manly” and “strong” doesn’t mean they can’t have anxiety and depression.

The highest rate of suicides in the world is middle aged people. It is the 2nd highest cause of death for people aged 15-24, and a vast majority of them are men. In 2017, out of 6,241 suicides in the age group of 15-24, 5,016 of them were men.

While women are statistically more likely to have anxiety and depression, it is 3.56x more likely for a man to commit suicide than a woman. While you think about mental health today make sure to check on the men in your life.

Men with depression have an extremely hard time admitting their depression because of the public belief that men should always be “strong” and “show less emotion”.

Sayings like “crying is for girls”, “man up”, etc are deeply rooted forms of toxic masculinity and the suppression of emotion in men. Even young boys, some of the first things you learn is “you always have to be tough” and “you shouldnt cry, youre a man”.

These sayings and stigmas force men to bottle up their emotions, and instead of talking to someone. Eventually all those emotions come out all at once, and that can have horrible consequences.

Take the first step and please make sure to contact the “masculine” men in your life along with everyone else you check up on every day. Even if you are confident they’re a happy. You never know what’s going on in someone’s head, nor what kind of face they put on in public.

Especially in the head of someone who feels like society forces them to hide their weaknesses.