MOMENTSWITHMAUDE.COM

To my son, Nathan, and all the men we love, this is for you.”

“Strong Doesn’t Mean Silent”

June brings Father’s Day—a time to honor the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, and father-figures who have shaped our lives. It's also Men’s Health Month, a reminder that caring for the men we love means encouraging them to care for themselves.

Many men were raised to believe that strength means endurance—pushing through pain, staying silent, showing no weakness. But true strength includes knowing when to speak up, when to rest, and when to seek help.

This month, we lift three vital pillars of men’s health:

🩺 Prostate Health

• A simple blood test (PSA) and a conversation with your doctor can help catch problems early, often before symptoms appear.
• Black men are at higher risk, as are men with a family history of prostate cancer. If your father, brother, or uncle had it, talk to your doctor about beginning screening as early as age 40-45.
• Age matters. Most men are encouraged to begin screening by age 50.
• Don’t wait for symptoms. By the time signs like difficulty urinating or pain appear, the cancer may have advanced. Early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms

Whether you are a spouse, partner, friend, or caregiver, your encouragement may be the nudge a man needs to take that first step. Remind him: This is not just about cancer, it’s about living a longer, healthier life.

Mental Health

Black Men and Mental Health: Breaking the Silence, Reclaiming Our Strength

Too many men suffer in silence.

Too many Black men are taught to “man up,” push through, or keep it to themselves.

But unspoken pain doesn’t go away, it just grows heavier. Depression, anxiety, unresolved grief, trauma, they don’t make you weak. They make you human.

Mental wellness is not a luxury. It’s survival.

Whether it’s the pressure to provide, the weight of systemic racism, or the grief that never got a voice. Black men carry a lot. And it takes courage to admit: “I’m not okay.”

Let’s normalize:

• Going to therapy
• Joining support groups
• Checking in with your brothers
• Talking to your doctor about emotional health
• Naming grief instead of burying it

Silence can be deadly.

Black men are statistically less likely to seek mental health care, and more likely to face severe outcomes when mental illness goes untreated. Suicide, addiction, heart disease, and high blood pressure are often linked to untreated emotional pain.

You are not alone.

There is power in asking for help. There is strength in vulnerability. There is healing in community.

Mental health care isn’t weakness, it’s wisdom. It’s the strength to stay alive, present, and whole.

Let’s talk about it. Let’s walk together through it. Let’s raise a generation of men who know that healing is brave.

Men and Heart Disease: Protecting the Heart That Carries So Much

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States. Yet so many men, fathers, brothers, husbands, sons, partners, friends, keep going, carrying stress, pressure, and responsibility in silence, while their hearts pay the price.

Your heart does more than pump blood.

It carries love, worry, ambition, and pain. It’s the engine behind your work, your family, your story. And it deserves care.

The good news!

Many forms of heart disease are preventable or manageable with small, steady lifestyle changes:

• Move more. Regular physical activity, even walking 30 minutes a day, strengthens the heart.
• Eat smarter. More fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. Less salt, sugar and fried foods.
• Manage stress. Chronic stress can quietly damage the heart over time. Deep breathing, prayer, rest, and support groups help.
• Know your numbers. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar all matter. Get regular check-ups.
• Cut back or quit smoking. Every cigarette affects your heart and arteries.

It’s never too late to start.

Whether you’re 35 or 75, your heart will thank you for every health choice.

Men, you give so much to the world. Don’t forget to give care to the one organ that makes it all possible, your heart.

Love it. Move it. Protect it.

• Grieving fathers, widowers, brothers—your pain matters. Let’s create space for men to mourn, to heal, and to speak their truth without shame.

“Healing doesn’t come from hiding. It comes from honesty.”

🕯️ A Word for Those Grieving

June can bring joy and ache. If you’re missing your father this month or grieving a son, a brother, or a male friend, you are not alone. Grief is not a detour from life; it is part of the sacred road.

Let this be a month not only of remembering but of reclaiming health, honoring healing, and speaking life into the men we love.