It’s about time that we finally discuss what makes men’s mental health so different from women’s. Like, did this whole campaign need to be this exclusive? Well, that’s a hard question to answer. While we are not denying women’s mental health by any means. However, men need way more convincing when it comes to getting them to seek professional help. Usually, a man will develop mental health issues by not speaking openly about their emotions, and even if they are told that the whole “men don’t express their emotions” line is absolute nonsense, the thought process of holding them in happens automatically even without thinking about the consequences of doing it. This also goes for the mentality of relying on oneself and not seeking help from others. Even if we told men that it’s ok to seek help from others, it would cause additional problems, including the worry that if they start relying on others, they might rely too much on others and become a useless member of society who can’t do anything on their own, because, well, the average man isn’t used to relying on others due to their assigned gender role. It’s also hard to break these gender roles and reassure men that they can expose their emotions without being mocked or judged for it. One method would be to focus less on the present and more on the future. Boys that grow up to be dads that suffer from these mental health issues should teach their sons as a father figure that it’s encouraged to tell people how you feel and to avoid old nonsense like “boys don’t cry” when your son is feeling sad.
As mentioned above, the ways mental problems affect an individual vary immensely from one gender to the next. Although it is a scientific fact that women are more likely to receive diagnoses of mental illness ranging from anxiety to depression, it is our fathers, brothers and sons that often take the way of trying to find answers at the bottom of a bottle or by become socially recluse, as Japan’s famous hikikomori’s illustrate. Studies have been showing for the past two decades that both genders deal with these afflictions differently--women tend to keep their emotions hidden from plain sight and refrain from maintaining frequent social interactions, while men are much more aggressive in their reaction by turning to more extreme forms of evolution of their character towards coercive, intentionally noncompliant and impulsive ways of life. This principle of noncompliance is well illustrated in how among all British clinical referrals relating to mental health problems in 2019, only about a third were men. This shows how men, as a general rule, stay clear away from seeking health or even mentioning symptoms of mental distress to their peers. That is not to say that women are more mentally ill than men of course, as research shows that both genders are affected at similar rates for most conditions such as BPD and ADS, it is simply to show that both genders do not seek help at the same rate or deal with those conditions in the same way.
As always, if you need anyone to talk to, that’s what we’re here for. You can leave a comment on our blog or contact us on Instagram or Facebook if you are seeking help. Feel free to share this blog post so that we can further spread the word about men’s mental health.
“Mental Health Statistics: Men and Women.” Mental Health Foundation, 1 Oct. 2021, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-men-and-women.
Otten, Daniëlle, et al. “Similarities and Differences of Mental Health in Women and Men: A Systematic Review of Findings in Three Large German Cohorts.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Jan. 1AD, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.553071/full.
Moyser, Melissa. “This Article Compares the Mental Health Outcomes (I.e., Self-Rated Mental Health, Change in Mental Health since Physical Distancing Began, Severity of Symptoms Consistent with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Two Weeks Prior to Completing the Survey, and Life Stress) of Male, Female, and Gender-Diverse Participants in a Recent Crowdsource Questionnaire, Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians -- Your Mental Health (April 24 to May 11, 2020).” Gender Differences in Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Government of Canada, Statistics Canada, 9 July 2020, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00047-eng.htm.
“Men's Mental Health: Common Challenges.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mens-mental-health#men-and-mental-health.
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