Reality TV star and actress Alex Unusual has called on Nigerian men to reject long-standing beliefs that discourage emotional expression, saying the culture of silence surrounding men’s mental health has been passed down through generations.
Reflecting on the end of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, the former Big Brother Naija housemate said many men remain unaware of the campaign, while others view conversations about emotional wellbeing as incompatible with masculinity.
According to Alex, discussions she has had with men over the years reveal that emotional restraint has become deeply embedded in society and is often mistaken for strength.
“Silence became tradition, emotional suppression became discipline and proof of manhood,” she wrote on Instagram.
The actress argued that the greater challenge lies in the willingness of many men to defend these harmful norms instead of confronting them.”They wear their wounds like medals and call healing weakness,” she said.
Alex also highlighted the stigma surrounding men’s mental health advocacy, noting that some men fear they will be perceived as unserious if they openly champion the cause.
Recalling one conversation, she quoted a man as saying:
“Alex, if I tell you I’m putting together an event for the men’s mental health movement, won’t you call me an unserious man? My mates are looking for money; you want me to be doing girl stuff.”
She said such attitudes help explain why many men continue to struggle in silence despite growing awareness of mental health issues.
Encouraging men to take responsibility for their emotional wellbeing, Alex stressed that healing begins with personal choice.”Nobody will really do it for you if you don’t do it for yourself,” she wrote.
The actress added that genuine masculinity should not be defined by hiding pain but by the courage to acknowledge and address it. “Real masculinity isn’t measured by how much pain you can hide. It’s measured by how much truth you can face.”
She concluded by urging men to become the generation that ends the cycle of inherited emotional trauma. “If generations can inherit pain, they can also inherit healing. Someone has to be the first man in the family to choose.”
