Strong Man Syndrome
β¦but who checks on you when you break?
Can I talk to the men for a moment?
Not in that βmotivational speaker, be strong kingβ kind of way.
But in a βI see your tired eyes behind the confident smileβ kind of way. π£
Because damnβ¦ yβall go through a lot, donβt you?
No one ever asks if youβre okay. No one pauses to notice when your smile fadesβ¦
Nobody ever teaches men how to feel. Youβre told to toughen up, be the protector, keep it together.
What happens when the protector needs protecting, when the strong friend starts falling apart quietly, and no one notices?
Where do you go when your heart is heavy but your mouth says donβt talk because βmen donβt talk too muchβ?
And society claps for you when you do but goes silent when youβre bleeding internally.
Iβve always wonderedβ¦
Who comforts the man when heβs the one whoβs hurting?
Who notices when youβre drowning in your own head, fighting demons youβve never named?
Or when youβre staring at the ceiling at 2am because life feels like itβs choking you, but you donβt even know who to call without being seen as weak?
This isnβt me trying to play therapist. This is just me, a woman whoβs seen too many good men crash internally because the world taught them silence.
And I just want to say, I see you.
I might not understand everything you feel, but I know what itβs like to go through life misunderstood.
That kind of ache? It doesnβt wear a face.
But I see it in yours.
To hold it all together when youβre falling apart inside and itβs not fair.
You might not cry loud, but I hear it. You might not talk about it, but I feel it.
And Iβm sorry this world only claps when youβre strong but stays silent when youβre just being human after all.
Know someone who needs this? Donβt keep it to yourself.
Send it to a man you love. A brother, a friend, a father, a partnerβ¦
Someone who rarely hears, βYou donβt always have to be strongβ.
So Iβm not here to tell you to βman upβ.
Iβm just here to ask,
βAre you okay?β
Like genuinely⦠are you okay?
Not βhowβs workβ, not βyou good?β Like a passerbyβ¦
I mean really, are you okay?
The comments are open. You donβt have to hold it in here.
You donβt always have to be strong. I hope you know that.
You deserve softness too. You deserve safety. You deserve a place where you can fall apart without feeling like a failure.
This is for the men who never got asked, βHow are youβ¦ really?β
This is for the ones who cry in the shower.
The ones who bottle it all in because theyβve been let down too many times.
The ones who are so used to being βthe strong oneβ that theyβve forgotten what it feels like to just be and live.
I hope you know, even if the world never says it, You matter too. Not just when youβre producing, providing or performing.
But even when youβre still. When youβre soft. When youβre vulnerable. Youβre not weak for feeling. Youβre just being human.
And I hope one day, you give yourself permission to be seen fully. Youβre not alone.
With love,
Becky
If this felt too real to ignoreβ¦ good. I write what most people pretend doesnβt exist.
Thatβs why men like to be with friends.
Believe me, we deal with our emotions, we know to feel. But we just do it in a different way.
We also like being alone sometimes.
I donβt focus so much on being seen or understood by the women in my life (wife, mom, sis), I just care for their respect.
Respect? Yes, respect to who I am, what I do, what I want to achieve, my time, my friends.
Thankfully they do.
Thank you for writing this, more men need to hear it. ππΌ