You may have heard the phrases ‘boys don’t cry’ or ‘man up’. These phrases highlight how across society there is a lack of awareness of young men’s mental health, with expectations that they remain strong, silent and never show their emotions. Not addressing boys and young men’s mental health, can have negative impact on boys and young men – as well as other people in their lives – in the future.
In the August Somerset Youth Parliament meeting, member of the group James proposed this topic as an important one for the group to look at. Here Grace, member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group, shares her thoughts on this topic.
I believe James’ proposal of exploring men’s mental health at our August meeting, is an extremely important topic that often doesn’t have much awareness.
In our society there are unfortunately still some people who feel that men should be constantly strong and not suffer issues in mental health, however this is simply not true! Anyone can experience negative mental health.
The effect these judgemental ideas can have on children can be devastating, but they can then grow up with these same ideas, believing men should not suffer from bad mental health, and shouldn’t talk about it. Ultimately this ends up being detrimental for society as a whole.
Grace
Not just elected members
Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.
For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.
