Men are sharing the small ways that we can all help prevent male suicide and their answers are heartbreaking

Suicide is a serious and sensitive topic.

Although it affects all genders and ages, by some estimates it is the biggest killer of men under 45, with young men being particularly vulnerable.

One of the most common contributors to this is men not feeling able to talk to people about what’s going on in their lives – be that mental health issues, relationships, substance misuse, abuse or anything else.

The culture of silence is something that, unfortunately, most of us are guilty of contributing to one way or another – and it’s all of our responsibility, together, to create a world where everyone feels able to talk and no one feels alone.

On Reddit, people have been discussing ways that we can all help men and stop so many from considering suicide.

One user asked:

78% of suicide rates world wide are men, what can we do to help them?

In a matter of hours, the thread amassed over 17,000 comments. Many of them were from men, who anonymously discussed the things about the world that make life challenging for them.

Some of the responses were truly devastating...

“Treat us like humans. I was sexually assaulted as a child and frequently tried to harm myself but whenever i talked to someone about it they scoffed and said i was telling fibs.”

- Sigly-Wigly-Pigly

“Dont shame us for asking for help or appearing weak”

- yeahman925

“Stop calling us “pussies” for having feelings. Humans feel feelings and it’s normal and expressing them doesn’t make them less of a person

- Tirannie

"I've been told to man up my entire life... I'm not even sure what it takes to make me cry. My empathy has been whittled down to children and old people.”

- Distortedhideaway

"Hugs, compliments and cuddles. Men does not get enough of these things.”

- Trylletrold

"Compliment us, even if its something small.

'Wow that's a nice shirt, it looks good on you.'

'Your hair looks nice today.'

A girl complimented my nose 4 years ago (weird I know), but I STILL remember that compliment."

- StayGoldBronyBoy

"Provide more opportunities to form communities and activities that cater to different men's needs. A lot of us don't have friends or intimate platonic relationships, and we're in desperate need of that."

- oddoutlier

Read the full thread here.

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