There are many things to consider when it comes to this statistic. At least 1 in 10 men experience depression, but less than half seek treatment. This means that while women have higher rates of diagnosis, there are many men going undiagnosed every year. Men also make up 10% of bulimia and anorexia diagnoses and 35% of binge eating diagnoses each year. However, we also know that men are less likely to seek care, which means these figures could be higher.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n So why do men so often fall through the cracks? Societal stigma against mental illness cannot be ignored. It\u2019s what keeps so many people, regardless of gender, from seeking mental health care. Until this is something we eliminate as a society, there will always be people who go untreated for mental illness. We also have very strict societal ideas about what men should be and how they should act. This includes being non-emotional, that anger is an acceptable solution to many problems, that heavy drinking is normal. And, of course, that men shouldn’t cry. These factors not only contribute to why men don\u2019t seek mental health care but also actively harm their mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don’t socialize men to be able to recognize their feelings or discuss them. This means they\u2019re more likely to lack the verbiage to be able to clearly say that they need help. Sometimes, as a society, we can downplay when someone says they\u2019re not feeling well if it doesn\u2019t seem serious. It\u2019s likely that because of the lack of socioemotional education for men that they have a hard time expressing just how seriously unwell they’re feeling. On the outside, it can look like they\u2019re just having a bad day. However, inside, they could be very seriously depressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re also not socialized to have these types of conversations with each other. Often, we showcase that men should have relationships with other men based on shared hobbies. This makes it difficult to \u201cruin the fun\u201d and bring up something difficult during what is supposed to be a low-key outing. They\u2019re also not encouraged to ask other people, especially men, about how they\u2019re feeling. This can lead to the false sense that men don’t suffer. Or, that they don’t recognize the suffering of others. Neither of these things are true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mental health affects men in many different areas of their lives<\/a>, which could then contribute to worsening mental health. For example, it can affect their work lives and make their jobs difficult or cause lower productivity or job satisfaction. It can result in problems in romantic or platonic relationships, which can contribute to loneliness in men. It can also affect their families who may experience the brunt of some of the symptoms that many men experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is also the issue that men\u2019s symptoms<\/a>, especially for depression, most often present as physical. For example, they often report headaches, digestive issues, fatigue, or general aches and pains as opposed to low mood. This means they\u2019re more likely to seek help for what they perceive as a physical ailment from a doctor than reach out to a mental health professional for depression. They also often have a difficult time distinguishing depression from stress, as they present very similarly in men, and often have similar causes (relationship problems, work issues, family dynamics, etc.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n We also see that men are more likely to self-medicate when they\u2019re depressed or anxious. This means they turn to drugs and alcohol more often. Unfortunately, it is considered societally normal for men to use alcohol to deal with stress or difficulties, which can encourage this behavior but also means that depression is going unnoticed. We see it as a man just trying to unwind from a hard day as opposed to a man experiencing depression. Even worse, these methods of self-medicating often make the problem worse, causing a vicious cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only this, but physicians and mental health care providers are also less likely to realize the severity of symptoms in men<\/a>. This is partially due to how gender differences play into presentation of symptoms but also due to inherent bias that all of us carry with us in our everyday lives. There is an unspoken understanding that men just don\u2019t experience depression as often and so when they seek help, they are more likely to be dismissed as the problem being less severe than it actually is. Often, men are blamed for their own symptoms by society, with a focus being on their attitudes about mental health and masculinity (which are all influenced by the cultures in which they live). <\/p>\n\n\n\n We do not focus on addressing these societal issues and instead focus on how those experiencing mental illness should do better. Especially paired with how their symptoms are often different, these men who do seek care often do not get the level of care they need. In fact, almost half of all men who died by suicide sought mental health care in the year before completing suicide. Clearly, there is something missing in how health care professionals, including mental health professionals, are being trained in this particular area.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Men of color have even more barriers to mental health care than their white counterparts. Indigenous men have the highest rates of suicide of all demographics and are more likely to report feelings of hopelessness, for example. Racism and racial trauma adds an extra stressor to the lives of men of color that contributes to poor mental health. Racial biases still exist in the health field, which could also contribute to a reluctance on the part of men of color to reach out for help from a predominantly white pool of health professionals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only that, but historically, white medical professionals have used Black individuals for experimentation, often against their will and without their knowledge, harming their health permanently or killing them. This has contributed to lack of trust in the medical field. We also have to consider the impact that lack of resources have on men of color\u2019s ability to even seek care. Many men of color live in areas with low density of mental health practitioners, heavily limiting their access. Many also cannot afford mental health care, which further causes impediments in seeking help for mental illness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n How does depression often present in men? We associate depression with low mood and excessive sleeping or eating, feelings of hopelessness, or other things that we associate with people being \u201csad\u201d. However, we have seen that men often exhibit other symptoms when depressed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what can we do? One of the things we have to work on as a society is how we approach mental health stigma. While many strides have been made in this area, not enough has been done to address the stigma specifically aimed at men. We also have to, as a society, work to address how we see masculinity <\/a>and the way we expect men to behave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our current gender roles are actively contributing to men\u2019s poor mental health and their deaths. While these are big tasks, smaller tasks we can do is work on how health professionals are trained. We need to make them more able to recognize symptoms of depression in men. And to be able to meet men where they are to work with them towards better mental health. We need more access to mental health care, especially for men of color. We also need to encourage people to check in on their male friends and be prepared to have difficult conversations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two organizations that are working on addressing men\u2019s mental health and how people can have these conversations with men in their lives. They are Man Therapy and Movember. Man Therapy<\/a> approaches men\u2019s mental health with humor in the hopes of destigmatizing access and encouraging men to reach out for help. They also offer resources to help men recognize their symptoms and to recognize if a friend could be struggling. Movember<\/a> also works towards this and has resources to help men talk to other men about mental help, including ALEC and R U Okay? Movember is working on releasing an online education program called Men in Mind <\/a>. This is for mental health professionals to help them be better equipped to help male clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Men\u2019s mental health is something we need to talk more about. And we need to work towards the end of stigmatization and approaching men with a focus on their unique needs. Men are dying at incredible rates from preventable mental health consequences. There is more we could be doing as a society and mental health professionals to address this.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.aamc.org\/news\/men-and-mental-health-what-are-we-missing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/adaa.org\/find-help\/by-demographics\/mens-mental-health<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/online.hpu.edu\/blog\/the-importance-of-mens-mental-health-awareness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/mens-mental-health-man-up-is-not-the-answer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/mhanational.org\/infographic-mental-health-men<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXe6Lj2NDNVNWQIaU9gdgSQIlo2pVxYZuso5F-JStggfiKvuYGR5lO6NccVTTAsJtTreNc2JdTeZir2Bv6cxKzeHmtTpQdGHuQNBwxwhhidh7FWpdh8PCcMyRzXY8ppZRPphlhrTJGXUCy_P-J0hjA3BNXW4?key=ZiqZhjzcNSarmUiSmmDG9A\")
Why Does Men’s Mental Health Fall Through the Cracks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Barriers for Men of Color<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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