Let’s talk about Gender Roles and Mental Health: A few years ago, the brother of a close friend of mine committed suicide. He wasn’t even 30. The news was devastating. But what’s even more shocking? The numbers: In 2021, there were around 746,000 suicide deaths worldwide. 519,000 were men, compared to 227,000 women (Weaver, 2025). In other words, 7 out of every 10 people who die by suicide are men. 

April rolls around every year as Stress Awareness Month and it’s like a big, friendly nudge to open up, talk about it and remind each other that we’re in this together. So, let’s dig into why this matters, what’s fueling all this stress, how it sneaks into every corner of our lives and most importantly how we can push back, one small step at a time.

Launched by the United Nations in 2007, it’s one of just seven health-focused days they spotlight (UN, 2024). It’s about rights, inclusion, and turning awareness into action. You might have noticed the “Light It Up Blue” campaign, landmarks glowing blue to say, “We see you” (Autism Speaks, 2025). This year’s theme, “Advancing Neurodiversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” links autism to broader goals (UN, 2025) like education, employment and dignity for all. It’s not just talk; it’s about making space for autistic individuals to flourish.

Studies say that 15-20% of teens have self-harmed at some point. That could mean 4 or 5 out of a classroom full of 25 kids. (Ma et al., 2023). For that we have Self-Harm Awareness Month to talk about why it’s important to have this conversation, what’s behind it and what can we do to make a difference.

The modern political climate is more than just a governance issue, it is a mental health crisis. No matter which country they’re a citizen of, people worldwide are experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, stress, and emotional exhaustion due to the relentless cycle of political instability, misinformation, and systemic failures. Regardless of age, socioeconomic status, or ideology, people feel the weight of a system that seems increasingly indifferent to their well-being.

What is fear of missing out? I always associated that term with the bubbling feeling inside my chest when I started feeling that everyone BUT me was out there having the time of their lives. In the middle of the night, scrolling through Instagram, the feelings of being “the only one left out” creeps in my mind and my body. “Fear of missing out” or in other terms FOMO is a relatively new term that was first introduced in 2004. It is used to describe a phenomenon related to social networking sites usage.