There is a quiet crisis unfolding in the health of Black men. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black men in America have the lowest life expectancy of any demographic group, nearly five years shorter than white men.
How many of us, just this year, have known someone who has taken their own life or felt the tremor when a friend of a friend suddenly is not here anymore?
Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that our value is measured by our output. That worth only comes once we’ve “made it.” A promotion, a flawless bank account, a home that looks like a magazine spread. But the truth is, this belief is quietly stealing our wellbeing. Perfection is a moving target and chasing it often leaves us exhausted, disconnected and questioning ourselves.
In conversations with brothers from every walk of life; entrepreneurs, professionals, artists, fathers, there is a pattern. It’s not the work itself that breaks us. It’s the relentless, unspoken rules they’ve adopted about what it means to “deserve” peace or pride. These rules aren’t written anywhere, but they’re etched into habits and self-talk.
Here are five perfection-driven traps that quietly sabotage your mental health and create cycles of stress and anxiety:
Measuring worth only by achievement:…
“Men cry. Men struggle” but saying it and living it are two very different things, especially for Black men.
For generations, masculinity has been policed by silence. Men are taught that tears are weakness, breakdowns are failure and vulnerability is something to be feared. Yet the research tells another story.
According to a CDC report, suicide rates among Black men aged 15–24 increased by 47% between 2013 and 2019. And Dr. Wizdom Powell, a leading health disparities researcher and clinical psychologist, warns that “emotional stoicism among Black men is literally killing us.”
"Because silence should never be a brother’s legacy."
In every corner of culture, men have been told a silent lie, that to feel is to falter. That to struggle is to fail. That to speak up is to show weakness. But here’s what the research and real life tell us, what’s unspoken is often what hurts us most.
Stress doesn’t always look like breaking down.
Sometimes, it looks like powering through.
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
