Mental health is something that is not taken as serious as it should be within our youth and even adults. Many children fear speaking up to their parents because their parents have not created a safe environment for them which then creates emotionally closed off and isolated adults who do not express or know how to deal with emotions. This topic interests me so much because I’ve known and still know people who suffer from mental illnesses and mentality issues who are doing that suffering in silence. I can only do so much when it comes to helping but I truly believe that every parent and every school should focus heavily on raising these kids of the next generation in a healthy, nonjudgmental, safe environment to voice their feelings. I believe that this issue hits men and women slightly differently. I really cannot speak for women because I’m not one but as a man I see how it affects young boys and even sometimes still affects me where we’re seen as unemotional, cold, and strong all of the time. It’s not healthy for someone to be held up to that standard because its very robot-like. We all have feelings that we should be able to express but in todays society if you’re feeling any kind of way you need to “suck it up”, “stop being soft”, “stop being a bitch”. Theirs parents who tell their children today that “boys don’t cry” and that’s a terrible thing to raise a child on. That mindset becomes embedded in a boys head so that they shut off all emotion so that they do not feel or be seen as weak. When in reality feelings are normal and being vulnerable requires more strength than being silent.

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