True dat.

What else are you suppose to do?

Ask for help. Be vulnerable with the boys.
- Lol, no. We'll all just suffer quietly thanks.
- Cool, cool, cool...
  Are there any other options tho?
- 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.
- If only that worked for me. I've been in a depressing place for 5 years, and I both opened up to my homies and brother... Crickets.
  My wife keeps me sane and grounded.
- Yes. That's the healthy option. ...Not gonna do it.
- The boys can't do anything. They're broke and hopeless too.
- what boys? This ignores the original point. There isnt some big group of friends just waiting for a cry for help... The point is they arent receptive to it and it causes them to withdraw. A dude feeling suicidal? Literally no wants to hear it. Theyll just feel uncomfortable and avoid you.
- The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma...
- I'll just post 'mood' worthy memes untill the problem is normalized to me long enough to stop making me feel things about it.
- You kidding?
  (Looks at them)
  That empty spot is where those two would be, if they didn't have to do 55 hours/wk at work and care for their families the rest of the time.
  He got depressed and vanished a year ago. No one knows where he went. He didn't leave any contact info.
  He's literally too stupid to breathe. We keep him around for the laughs but no one is going to tell him anything.
  And he's literally dead.
Wallow in self pity?
I'm good with sending memes.

you guys have homies?

- We here for your memes homie.
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.
- 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.
- the problem is systemic. a brotherhood of man wouldn't put up with the whims of poor leadership.

I usually just disappear and than appear again, like nothing happened.

And then kill themselves

Source CDC

Hey guys guess where I will do a backflip tonight lmao 🤣
Wasn't the attempted suicide rate for men and women the same (not completely sure), but men overall tended to opt in for more 'successful' methods making the actual suicide rate higher?
- CDC data demonstrates that men account for over 76% of suicide deaths in the United States each year. The CDC also found that there are 3.3 male suicide deaths for every female suicide death. In contrast, in research studies, women are two to three times more likely to discuss thoughts of suicide than men, and there are approximately three female suicide attempts per every one male suicide attempt.
  Women attempt more, but use ineffective strategies like overdose. Men attempt less, but use more effective strategies than women do (like half of successful attempts are with guns. It’s actually really hard to OD on purpose - tried it at least three times lol)
  It’s not a “men have it better than women” or vice versa thing. It’s more about cultural presentations of suicide and suicidality.
Estrogen is anti psychotic and has various benefits for the brain. Schizophrenia manifests mainly after menopause in women and during peak testosterone age in men

Hey! It makes the day better when your homies laugh

Memes ARE a cope

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...

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
- No worries, we all deal with stress in our own ways.

Well what else are we supposed to do? Open up about our problems and get ridiculed to oblivion?

Good for you, I wish I had those kinds of friends

I feel called out.

Nah, i tell my bois all about it and they talk to me about it.

That's nice. I'm trying to get there myself. It's hard enough to be honest with yourself, let alone your buds.
- It is hard on both accounts, yes.
  And also: it's okay to accept people who don't want a deeper relationship. You can have different friendships at different levels.

How else are we to feel better then?

- I guess there is more than one way after all
- but that never makes me feel any better

I've heard of worse coping mechanisms.

Welll, yeah. You ever tried to tell someone how bad of a day you just had? They dgaf.

Friends are going to care if they're actually friends.

Yeah, I try not to let things go unsaid myself because I don't really post memes much and I do try to fight against the toxic mentality of "men don't share feelings" shit.

But I feel a sort of mental "sting" every time I talk about something that makes me sad in front of people. It makes me worry I'm being pathetic, unlikable, or unattractive.

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

If only this were an actual meme

What is a meme zar?

It's how we have to communicate, as most cultures won't allow us to be open with our emotions.

Y'all need actual friends.
- This advice is only one step above "just be happy".

No shit. Men, nor women, pretend to be sad, they pretend to be happy.

It's very true trueeeee