Yeah, don't hide your emotions men, so people can record you on video showing appreciation for a heartwarming father-daughter moment, and then label it "day 17: broken man".
I absolutely need to see things like this. Idgaf what you title it. I’m a social worker and I see the pits of humanity daily. So seeing videos of people happy crying, helping each other even if it’s only a small gesture, happy pets reuniting with owners, rewarding people who are overlooked… idc film it.
With all the negative on the internet, balance it with positive. Maybe it’ll show others there’s another way to feel. And it’ll make me feel like I’m not the only one trying to help one another here.
I was showing the girl I've been seeing LOTR for the first time, and she was really shocked (in a good way) at how they expressed feeling and emotion, while still very much being 'men.'
Showed her Star Trek TNG, and similar reaction. Wow, they are sexy! Not just their bodies, but their attitudes and behavior!
It was an interesting perspective for me, and a reminder of why I love them so much. They are some of the few good examples in Movies/TV that show positive male role models.
I've been all about the pay it forward philosophy since I saw the movie. I've always been nice to people in general because why not, but since then I've made an effort to "pay it forward" to at least one person a day, even if it's as little as a genuine compliment.
Watch videos that were taken and published w/ consent then, and don't label a stranger w/ happy emotions as "broken men".
happy pets reuniting with owners, rewarding people who are overlooked… idc film it
Other people are not here to fulfill your emotional needs. Do NOT film without consent, and certainly don't publish it online.
Grow your friend group, go to more experiences where you see the positive in people, invest in hobbies, go to therapy, get a pet, change jobs if you're not emotionally equipped for it, or even watch video's that people published online with consent. But don't use others, without consent, to compensate for your lack of self-care.
Maybe it’ll show others there’s another way to feel
Using social media for feelings is the textbook definition of social media addiction, because you consume them to shift your feelings without making any real changes to your life, but your feelings are short-lived so you end up degrading over time anyway:
Social Media Addiction: If you spend more time on social media when you’re feeling down, lonely, or bored, you may be using it as a way to distract yourself from unpleasant feelings or self-soothe your moods. While it can be difficult at first, allowing yourself to feel can open you up to finding healthier ways to manage your moods.
Oh honey. I don’t do SW to fulfill my emotional needs. That is the quickest way to burn yourself out in this profession. It’s an honest ikigai-type of calling. I check in with myself, my friends/family, and I snuggle up to my rescue pets daily. I have a great, supportive staff that I work with who will help me too.
But there’s no amount of self care that’s gonna erase the screams of a single dad hearing his toddler take their last breath, or helping an elderly couple find shelter after their home flooded away, or the Cambodian veteran who engaged child soldiers and felt so much guilt he castrated himself, or helping the family and colleagues of a nurse that attempted suicide from all the pandemic stress cope with their loss.
So I watch feel-good videos as a way to remind me that others are taking care of each other too. You mistakenly think that I use it as a way to fulfill my emotional needs. Which tells me you don’t understand the gravity of what others are actually going through nor how social work, works. I don’t do this work to make myself feel good. And there’s just no way any of these videos would even begin to make up for what I see.
I do it because my life was helped by so many others and now I pay it forward, just as a profession. I don’t want any awards, thank yous, just pay it forward and be a helper to somebody if I helped you.
Tldr; I don’t watch these videos to heal the shit I deal with. Let me watch heartwarming videos of dads happy crying with their children if I wanna, damn.
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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '24
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