en’s Mental Health Awareness Month is an important time dedicated to shining a light on the mental health challenges that men face. Although a lot has been done in terms of the general awareness on mental health, men continue to face challenges that have been hindering them to get help. Men are creatures of society, and preset societal expectations usually push them to a point where they are expected to be strong and unemotional; therefore, relating to silence and untreated mental health problems. The aim of this month is about talking openly, teaching, and supporting men in order to live a healthier and happier life.
Key Points:
- Comprehensively, men hardly ever seek any assistance even to mental health issues compared with women.
- Men are greatly outnumbered in rate of committing suicide than women.
- The sharing of emotions and de-stigmatization are life-saving practices.
Why Is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month Important?
Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month highlights the fact that mental health problems affect men just as much as women, but men often face greater stigma. Conventional concepts of masculinity do not allow men to be vulnerable and to seek assistance. As an illustration, one only believes that such statements as man up or boys do not cry teach bad stereotypes that makes men lonely at the emotional level. The problem that needs to be rectified this month is to create awareness and acceptance.
The latter aspect is more likely to lead to instances of men being depressed, anxious, and exhibiting substance abuse tendencies rather than raising their voices on the matter. The problem of suicide also kills many men, and the rates of male suicide death are approximately four times higher than the rates of female death in most countries. This month creates awareness because it makes men look for the indications of distress in themselves and in other people and consult professionals in case they are necessary.
An illustrative example is the research conducted in the UK, which reveals that 40% of men have never discussed their mental health; therefore, silence is the crucial impediment. Raising awareness aims at promoting healthy and standardizing the discussion of emotions and mental health treatment, which will allow men to come forward more quickly.
What are The Larger Mental Health Issues Affecting Men?
There are various psychological/mental-related issues that men are associated with and which can be largely connected with the societal pressures and concerns in life. These include:
- Depression and Anxiety: Men can exhibit the symptoms in a different way sometimes, they will not demonstrate sadness but may be irritable or angry, which will be erroneously regarded as a sign of anger.
- Substance Abuse: Men have higher chances of abusing alcohol and using drugs to deal with emotional distress or stress.
- Suicide Risk: Men contribute to suicide risk, as it can be frequently determined by untreated mental disorders and inability to take care of themselves.
- Work and Financial Pressure: It is a serious pressure to lead, especially the pressure to become the main earner.
- Relationship and Emotional Isolation: Men find it hard to build emotional bonding or share their emotions with others, thereby contributing to loneliness.