By Arlynn Del Cid
From a young age we have all heard tales and fables that inquired about a lion, the king of all carnivals, the one on the big tall rock, the fearless of all. As well as the stories of the handsome king that lives on top of a big mountain in a big castle that fears nothing with all his bright silver armor. A king who is able to take his people to victory through thick and thin without a single scratch on him because he is brave, strong, fearless, and needs no one to tell him everything will be okay. However, what happens when that big tall rock falls apart and the armor comes off?
Maybe reading something that is coming from a female perspective, rather than a male perspective on why men should also be allowed to show their emotions can shine a light on a subject that isn't talked about enough. Yes, stories tell us as children that men are brave and need no one, but when a little girl falls and hurts their knee they get cuddled and protected. When it happens to a little boy they are told “don’t cry, boys don’t cry, be brave.” This keeps going when men are teenagers and so forth as adults. Overall what I am trying to get at is that men are taught from a really young age to be tough and keep things “jarred up” or “bottled up”. However, what happens when the jar gets full or the bottle explodes with all those feelings of anger, sadness, rage. Just think about it, we as women get sentimental by someone simply raising their voice at us when trying to learn how to drive, while men are supposed to know how to drive. Do you see the difference? Men should be able to not be ashamed to ask for help, seek professional help and know they too are allowed to shed a tear and talk about what they feel or have going on without the feelings of guilt, criticism, or shame. You must remember to never feel ashamed of having feelings, we are human and it's a normal thing. Who cares if someone says “it's just something in your head” or “you're fine” because you know yourself better than anyone. Sometimes the worst case scenarios can become someone’s best case scenarios and that is something no one should ever have to encounter in their lives. I will say this once and that is men also have mental health issues just as women do, which brings me to say there should be more light shed onto the subject and that’s final.