• HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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    36 minutes ago

    What am I supposed to do? “Oh, hey, yeah, so, I just held my cat in my arms as he died. I had to euthanize him because he was had congestive heart failure, and was slowly drowning from pulmonary edema. I miss him so much, and I want to believe that he’s in a better place, but he’s just dead and gone, and I’m never gonna see him again. All I’ve got are memories, and they’re going to fade with time until one day I realize that I haven’t thought about him in years. But yo, how are you doin’? Any big plans for the weekend?”

    You get up, and keep doing the shit you have to do, because it needs to get done. Telling people you’re really depressed tends to make them feel really awkward, they don’t know what to say, and then they gradually start ghosting you. Shit sucks, but you put a happy face on because no one wants to know that you aren’t happy.

    • SavageCreation@lemmy.world
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      30 minutes ago

      You can simply say “yo I’m sad about my cat’s death”. Accept your feelings and dont be shy to share them, just dont impose them. It also opens buds to help you if they’re up for it.

      Shutting them up only reinforces this idea that men dont cry and arent allowed to feel things, and the day you need actual help people will mock and leave you for being a downer and a weakling.

      Friendships are built on the ups and the downs.

      Also in this case, you need to let yourself grieve, or itll pop up in the future when you dont expect it to.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      1 hour ago

      All my homies dispersed after our lives became so painful and tiring that we had nothing to share anymore.

      Men growing up never learn how to talk about their lives and wants and fears with each other, it’s always fake bravado, masculinity, “how can I make everyone laugh” and other increasingly desperate attempts to cling to the simple, happy days of childhood when there was less to worry about and every day was magical.

      When the magic wanes, we’re left as people holding nothing. We don’t know how to laugh anymore. We don’t know how to make anyone else laugh anymore. We stop smiling. We stop going out of our way to even keep up appearances, and just fade into the background, and most of us like it that way. Because society broadly doesn’t know how to handle male emotional states that don’t follow stereotypes for cartoonish masculinity. So as men get older, we get more and more alone.

      I literally have no clue what it feels like to have other men, related or not, to lean on and talk to. I’ve never had support from anyone outside of my partner, and cannot imagine how dark life is for men who don’t even have that. Yes, our world is unkind to men. It’s also unkind to women in a different way.

      We can each change it, but it takes effort, emotional intelligence, and of course the time in the day that most of us don’t have once you have bills to pay and people to take care of.

      And I don’t say this as some kind of whiny-ass teenage MGTOW redpill kid who is mad at women. I have studied sociology and neurology for decades, I have been a coach and trainer to young men, as well as women and families, I have taught self-defense, I’ve been in therapy, I’ve had substance abuse problems, i’ve kicked substance abuse problems. I’ve been religious and renounced it all. I’ve been a shut-in introverted gamer turned outgoing, public-speaking business leader. I’ve lived a few and speak from decades of just being and watching.

      • mothersprotege@lemm.ee
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        1 hour ago

        Your comment resonated with me. I wish I had more to contribute, but all I’ve got right now is: you don’t seem like such a mean cow.

      • masterspace@lemmy.ca
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        2 hours ago

        I will just say, having gone through a real rough year, it’s not always black and white. I be vulnerable with the boys and ask for help, but I need time to process first, and to do it in the way I want and the time I want.

        In the meantime, I am often sending memes for that small comfort of friendship while I process.

      • Sabata@ani.social
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        8 hours ago

        I’ll just post ‘mood’ worthy memes untill the problem is normalized to me long enough to stop making me feel things about it.

      • Yoga@lemmy.ca
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        8 hours ago

        Or go to therapy, or a 12 step program, or a support group, or a mens shed or call a crisis line.

        But ignoring it and pretending it’ll go away on its own letting the pressure build until it explodes is MANLY unlike taking responsibility for your reactions.

  • shyguyblue@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    When i had to take my dog to the emergency vet, I got on discord and posted about ten Star Trek memes in under five minutes. One of the guys asked if I was ok, that’s when i broke down and revealed the reason. I was basically looking for attention…

    • Biskii@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 hours ago

      Well, that explains my shit post the other day

      Edit: I’m so sorry, I had a disconnect from the first half of your comment. I apologize if this was insensitive, and I hope you are doing alright

  • masterspace@lemmy.ca
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    11 hours ago

    Often it’s when I’m most likely to. Sometimes you need a distraction, small comforts, and a reminder of feeling normal