May is Mental Health Awareness Month. For many people, that means green ribbons, social media posts, and well meaning hashtags. But for Black men, awareness has never really been the missing piece.
A 2023 study from the charity Mind found that Black men in the UK are far less likely than white men to be referred for talking therapies, yet more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act when in crisis. We know the weight is heavy. We feel the pressure to provide, to perform, and to protect, often without ever taking a moment to exhale.
The real question is not whether we are aware. The question is whether we are willing to heal out loud.
The numbers tell a story we can no longer ignore. Across England and Wales, the suicide rate for Black men has risen by nearly a third over the past decade, according to the Office for National Statistics.
A young Black man is almost four times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder than a white man, yet far less likely to be offered a simple counselling appointment. Why? Because too many of us grew up hearing that admitting pain means admitting weakness.
The idea of a strong Black man who never cries, never pauses, and never sits on a therapist’s couch has done more harm than good. It has left too many brothers suffering in silence behind closed doors.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we are calling for something different. Not silence. Not suffering in secret. Healing out loud.
Healing out loud means speaking your truth before grief writes it for you. It means checking on your friends as regularly as you check your oil, and without passing judgement. It means redefining strength as the courage to say, I am not okay, and I need help. It looks like calling a brother just to ask how he really is, especially if he has seemed distant lately.
It looks like booking a therapy session even if your family has never done that kind of thing. It looks like joining a peer support group where vulnerability is seen as bravery, not weakness. And it looks like walking away from the myth that you must carry everything alone.
If you are reading this and feel that familiar tightness in your chest, or perhaps nothing at all because you have learned to shut those feelings down, here is where you can start. Take a free anonymous mental health screening online, it is not a diagnosis but a conversation starter with yourself.
Reach out to organisations led by Black therapists who understand your experiences without requiring you to explain your culture. And text a friend right now, not with a casual greeting but with a genuine question: I am checking on you, with no judgement, just care.
Brothers, this month is not about performative awareness, it is about permission. Permission to put down the shield, to step out of isolation, and to heal in plain sight. The world does not need another strong, silent man crumbling behind closed doors, it needs you whole, it needs you here. So this May, let us do something truly revolutionary. Let us heal out loud. Together.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please take a moment to find out which mental health contacts you can reach out to in your area. A quick online search for crisis support or a local Black led wellbeing service could save a life. Your life matters. Do not wait.
