When the topic of mental health is brought up, society tends to brush it off or never like to speak on it at all. When it comes to a man’s mental health the topic is never mentioned. If anything they are told to “man up” or to “be a man about it” and I think that is a very unhealthy coping mechanism.

I’ll admit women and men might not have the same playing field when it comes to equal pay or the clothes they wear but we do share the same emotions which makes them just as human as we’ll ever be. When it’s put like that I always wonder how women view men’s mental health and most importantly how men view their own mental health.

I took the time to ask my friends, your fellow and former peers, their thoughts on men’s mental health, three of them being males and the other three being female. The questions I asked each gender were the same, the only difference was the guy’s answers were more personal and the girls were more from their perspective.

Q: “What does mental health mean to you?”

[Nour]: “ To me mental health means how stable you are mentally and it could come from stuff like depression, anxiety, PTSD and trauma.”

[Jack]: “To me it means being secure in who you are and being okay with yourself no matter what anyone says.”

[Rico]: “What mental health means to me is how a person’s health is emotionally, how they think, and how easily they are impacted by society mentally.”

Q: “How do you think society views your mental health?”

[Nour]: “I don’t think this could be everyone’s case but a lot of people don’t really care.”

[Jack]: “ I think society doesn’t really look at men’s mental health as much as they should.”

[Rico]: “ In society I think men’s mental health is more blown off and hidden.”

Q: “Do you think being a male makes it harder to express yourself?”

[Nour]: “Yes, I’ve been told to just man up.”

[Jack]: “I think sometimes it’s hard to express your mental health because as a man you want to stay strong and you don’t want people to see you as a weak man.”

[Rico]: “ I do think it does because of the simple fact of how you are judged the moment you express yourself.”

Q: “How often do you cry?”

[Nour]: “Every now and then.”

[Jack]: “I do not cry often.”

[Rico]: “I do not cry much, I hold those types of expressions for as long as I can. I think it shows weakness.”

Q: “What does mental health mean to you?”

[Jayna]: “Being happy with simply living and being yourself.”

[Italy]: “Mental health is an emotional well being, it affects how people feel and think, it can determine how someone will handle stress and relate to other people.”

[Macy]: “Mental health is definitely very important to me and taking care of your mental well being is very important.”

Q: “How do you think society views men’s mental health?”

[Jayna]: “Men aren’t always put on top when it comes to mental health. Society doesn’t really pay attention.”

[Italy]: “Society takes men’s mental health as a joke, they don’t think men can have emotional and physical signs that they are struggling.”

[Macy]: “I think society doesn’t necessarily talk about it as much as it should be. I think we definitely are slowly talking about it more but I think it should be more centralized.”

Q: “Do you think being a male makes it harder for them to express themselves?”

[Jayna]: “Yes, because men still think that showing or expressing how you feel is feminine.They think they shouldn’t because it makes them feel weak.”

[Italy]: “ I feel like being a male does make it harder for them to express themselves because they are portrayed to be strong and have the ability to get through their emotions and everything without showing it.”

[Macy]: “Definitely in the aspects of being sad and having depression and those types of things.”

Q:“How often do you think a guy should cry?”

[Jayna]: “They should cry whenever they need to. If you feel like you have to let something go then cry whenever.”

[Italy]: “I feel like a guy should cry every time they need to because if they don’t something can build up and trigger them and they end up really hurt off of something so small so they should cry whenever they need to.”

[Macy]: “ I mean I don’t think anyone should cry all the time but I think whenever they feel the need to cry? I don’t think it should be how often they do it ,more like when they need to cry.”

The responses varied and some did have to think before responding but what I have gathered from each response is that even though they all interpreted mental health differently, mental health is still over all a priority and should be taken very seriously. Regardless of who you are or what you do you should take the time of the day to only make sure the people around you are okay but yours as well.