On Being Seen

Men’s Mental Health Week runs from 9-15 June. You may not have noticed — and that’s not surprising. Most men don’t tend to make a fuss about these things. We keep going. We keep it to ourselves. We get on with it.

We’re good at looking like we’re fine. We stay busy, stay composed, stay quiet. But that doesn’t mean everything’s alright underneath. For a lot of men, it isn’t.

Some live with what Churchill famously called the black dog - not always loud or dramatic, but always there. A weight. A silence. A sense of not quite feeling like yourself. It doesn’t need a crisis to be real. Sometimes it’s just a slow fading of things that once felt easy.

I’ve known that feeling. So have plenty of the men I’ve worked with, dressed, or called friends. You get used to carrying things alone - even when you don’t need to.

That’s why Men’s Health Week matters. Same with Movember, later in the year. These aren’t just awareness campaigns - they’re invitations to talk, to check in, to pay attention. Not just to physical health, but to everything that sits beneath the surface.

At Crane Brothers, we talk a lot about presence - about dressing well, carrying yourself with confidence, taking pride in how you show up. But real presence is more than appearance. It’s noticing what’s going on in yourself, and in others. It’s taking the time to ask. And the patience to listen when someone answers honestly.

You don’t need to be in a bad place to say something. You just need to start.

If you’re feeling off, or if someone you care about seems out of sorts, there’s help available - quietly, without judgement, whenever you’re ready.

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 to speak to a trained counsellor
  

• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
  

• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (24/7)
  

• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202

• Samaritans: 0800 726 666 (24/7)
  

• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or free text 234
  

• What's Up: 0800 9428 787 
  

• Kidsline (ages 5–18): 0800 543 754

• Rural Support Trust: 0800 787 254
  

• Healthline: 0800 611 116

• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155