We’ve all heard it: “Real men don’t cry.” It’s become a badge of toughness but it’s also a barrier. Too many men learn to internalize pain and stay silent. At the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia, we say something different: real men check in.

They check their blood pressure. They check on their families. And they check in on their mental health.

June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month and West Virginia needs us to talk. Our state’s adjusted suicide rate is 18.3 per 100,000, above the national average of 14.3, and men make up nearly 80 percent of those deaths. Men in our state report experiencing “frequent mental distress” (14+ bad days per month) at a rate of 17.2 percent, four points higher than the national male average. Meanwhile, 22.9 percent of West Virginia’s adult men report symptoms of depression, compared to roughly 13 percent of American men overall.

These aren’t just statistics. They’re our fathers, brothers, classmates and teammates. And too often, men are told to “tough it out” instead of speak up.

Mental health is health. If a man is having chest pain, we don’t tell him to push through it. We act. We get help. We perform CPR. Why don’t we do the same when someone is suffering from anxiety or depression? Emotional CPR matters. NAMI in West Virginia offers free support groups, education and community programs to act like CPR for the brain, stabilizing, connecting and saving lives.

In rural parts of our state, men face additional barriers–stigma, isolation and scarce access to care–yet those barriers don’t mean men don’t feel pain. They just feel it alone. Asking for help isn’t a weakness, it’s strength. Checking in isn’t giving up. It’s staying in the fight.

If you haven’t checked in on your mental health lately, maybe this is your moment. Call a friend. Join a support group. Talk to someone. You don’t need insurance or a diagnosis, you just need courage.

Real men do check in and real communities make sure those check�’ ins are possible.

If you or someone you care about needs support, NAMI in West Virginia is here. Visit namiwheeling.org to learn about free support groups, training and resources near you. No judgment. No pressure. Just help.

(Julie Gomez is the executive director of NAMI in West Virginia. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the largest grassroots mental health organization in the United States.)