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With Men’s Mental Health Week approaching, it felt important to share this message. I work with adolescent boys on a rehabilitation programme following harmful behaviours. Many of the young people I support have experienced significant adversity and, sadly, have not always had healthy role models showing them how to recognise, express, and manage difficult emotions. What I see time and again is that emotions themselves are rarely the problem. The challenge often lies in what happens when children don’t learn safe ways to understand and process them. Boys are often given messages, directly or indirectly, that they should be tough, cope alone, or hide vulnerability. Yet emotional strength isn’t about suppressing feelings. It’s about learning how to sit with them, make sense of them, and express them in ways that don’t harm ourselves or others. Our children learn far more from what we do than what we say. They watch how we handle disappointment, frustration, anxiety, sadness, and conflict. If we want boys to grow into men who can talk about their mental health, seek support when needed, and navigate life’s challenges, we need to model that ourselves. Perhaps this Men’s Mental Health Week, we can start by showing boys that all feelings are welcome, that vulnerability is part of being human, and that strength is found not in hiding emotions but in learning how to manage them. Sending you my love, Sarb #mensmentalhealth #boysmentalhealth #griefandloss #itsokaynottobeokay❤️ #missyoudad