Living by Your Own Rules: Why So Many Men Feel Stuck — And What Helps By James Love

Living by Your Own Rules: Why So Many Men Feel Stuck — And What Helps  By James Love

Many creative men walk around feeling stuck. Not because they lack talent or ambition, but because their creativity doesn’t always have a clear outlet — or support.

This includes creative men who don’t necessarily call themselves artists. Men who express their creativity through conversation, leadership, coaching, ministry, or community-building are often gifted in the art of communication.

But feeling stuck is often rooted in something deeper: mental health challenges.

While mental health for men isn’t as taboo as it once was, access and expression remain limited — especially for Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American men.

In response, many men of color turn to creative mental health alternatives:

- Coaching circles  

- Virtual and phone-based support groups  

- Ministries that double as safe spaces  

- Communication-based art (spoken word, sermons, lyrics, etc.)

When traditional therapy feels out of reach, men create what they need.

But one key obstacle still holds many back: burnout.

Burnout doesn’t just drain energy — it robs men of vision and connection. It blocks them from building or joining the very spaces that could bring healing.

To move forward, we need to:

- Acknowledge burnout as a mental health issue  

- Recognize how men of color already do mental health creatively  

- Normalize emotional and spiritual check-ins as part of everyday life  

- Document and share strategies that work within our communities

Creative men thrive in connection, in movement, in purpose. And once we clear the fog of burnout, we often remember — we’ve been the solution all along.