The traditional gender roles from society’s expectations of men, can lead them finding it difficult to talk about their troubles and worries. These masculine gender roles can lead to feelings of embarrassment, shame, or concerns about taking time off from work. Mental illness can be seen as a sign of weakness, therefore showing signs of vulnerability is something which men can struggle with.
Women appear to find it easier to seek help through talking with others, for example through friendship groups or professional help such as talking therapies. Men are more likely to reach for alcohol or drugs to fix or mask their problems rather than reaching out to others.
Awareness in the media and society campaigns are helping things improve however, the statistics are still alarming, as the highest suicide rate in the UK are from males aged between 45 – 49 (Samaritans, 2023), and is the leading cause of death for men under the age of 50 (NHS, 2018). The ripples of this impact family, friends, work colleagues and the wider community. The report “Men and Suicide” (Samaritans, 2018), suggests some of the causes are due to breakdown in relationships, job losses, separation from children, or a lack of being able to open up about their problems.
Stigma around mental health can limit the understanding of its negative impacts and stop men accessing the support they need. Starting to eliminate that stigma can be through increasing awareness and easy access to talking therapies. Tackling these challenges men face and attitudes towards mental health are appearing to change, with groups such as Andy’s Man Club formed by family members after their loss of a loved one. Groups such as these demonstrate that men do not need to struggle alone, and offer a platform to inspire learning to talk openly from each other.
The hardest step is reaching for the phone, sending an email or a text message, and acknowledging vulnerability, and that help is needed and perhaps break that masculine cycle. It is ok to talk.
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