Men’s mental health month — Crying in the shower

Jon Acton
4 min readJun 12, 2024

Men’s Mental Health month — Crying in the shower

Men’s Mental Health Month — Crying in the shower

June is already full of celebrations such as the beginning of summer, Pride month, Juneteenth and even Father’s Day. I admit I didn’t know until the last couple days that June is also men’s mental health month. This is exciting, because I am a man and life has made me question my mental health. I am not sure how men’s mental health will be celebrated around the globe. Personally, I have missed any ads for discounted anythings, or we stand with men’s platitudes by major corporations. Nope, it kinda seems like business as usual with every other month of the year for men. Not crying, not whining, just seeing all the other men nod their heads in agreement without saying any words.

I am going to break protocol and share a page from the Men’s handbook of survival. Our mental health may not be very mentally healthy when the world is knocking the stuffing out of us. The real word is not stuffing. Because I cannot speak for every guy on the planet, the following may or may not apply to other men. The previously unshared secret is about men and crying. Men cry. I cry. Not often. Usually not publicly unless something important happens like Alabama Football not winning a National Championship every year. If I cry, it’s usually done in the shower so I can’t see or feel the tears. So do other men. Get out, dry off, put on the cloak of emotional deflection and act…

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Jon Acton

Husband, Father, Former School Superintendent, National Blue Ribbon School Principal, Teacher, Coach, Author in progress