A Quiet Call for Strength: Honouring My Brother this Men's Mental Health Month

June marks Men’s Mental Health Month—and for me, it brings a wave of reflection and responsibility.

In my last post, I shared how Camrhisa Designs was born from a place of loss, love, and the need to keep moving forward. What I didn’t fully explore then was the story of my eldest brother—a serving soldier, a protector, and someone I looked up to more than I ever said out loud.

My brother took his own life.
Writing those words still takes my breath away.

There’s no tidy way to wrap grief. It stretches, reshapes, and weaves itself into everything. Some days it’s a whisper, and other days it’s a roar. What I’ve come to understand more clearly with time is this: we do not talk enough about the silent battles men face.

My brother was brave in every conventional sense—strong, stoic, dependable. But beneath the surface, he carried wounds no one could see, in a world that rarely gives men permission to be vulnerable. The military, like much of society, doesn't always make space for softness or struggle. And even within families, we often don’t know how to ask the right questions—or listen long enough for the real answers.

So now, in his absence, I speak.
Not just for him, but for the many men who feel like they can’t.

Camrhisa Designs is my creative outlet—but it’s also my way of holding space. It’s a reminder that we all need calm. That scent can soothe, and craft can heal. That talking matters. That checking in matters. That no one, no matter how strong they appear, should have to walk through darkness alone.

If you’re reading this, I gently ask:

• Reach out to the men in your life.

• Make space for emotion—without judgement, without rushing to fix.

• And if you are someone struggling yourself: please, please talk. You are not weak. You are not a burden. You are needed.

In memory of my brother—this month, and every month—I’ll keep creating, speaking, and holding space for the conversations we’ve been taught to avoid.

With love,
Jamie
Founder of Camrhisa Designs
In memory of a brother, a soldier, and a soul worth saving.