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Parker Peterson
Professor Lisa Dela Cusack
ENGL101
16th November 23
Men’s Mental Health In Today’s Society.
In todays society there is a major problem with mental health, specifically
men’s mental health. Men have a higher rate of suicide and cannot adress their
issues due to societies standards. This leads them to not deal with their issues
and istead try to suppress and hide their emotions, which can be very harmful for
their mental health.
In 2021 there was a study done on Australian men working white and blue
collar jobs. This study found that most of these men feared seeking solutions to
their issues due to possible stigmas and even career jeopardy. This shows how
society has made men feel like their problems cannot be addressed and has
instilled fear in them of being seen as weak and therefore less of a capable
member of society.¹
I think Kevin Shafer and Douglas Wendt put it best in their paper “Men’s
Mental Health: A Call to Social Workers”. “Many men suffer from mental health
problems for which they desperately need professional assistance . These
challenges exist in part because men are often socialized into certain “masculine”
views that discourage seeking help.” (Shafer, Douglas; 1). These problems can
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be addressed and should be. Men feel as though they cannot seek help because
of a risk of “losing their masculinity”.
Additionally, the statistics show that mental health related incidents occur
much higher in men. According to the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention (AFSP) “The rate of suicide is highest in middle-aged white men. In
2021, men died by suicide 3.90x more than women. On average, there are 132
suicides per day. White males accounted for 69.68% of suicide deaths in 2021.”³
This statistic is devastating and it highlights the importance of this topic. These
men are peoples fathers, brothers, sons, and friends. These men deserve the
validation and acceptance of everyone else and they do not deserve to feel so
alone in their issues.
The purpose of this essay is to bring awareness to mens mental health and
to offer possible solutions to this devastating issue. I propose we, as a society,
bring more attention to mens mental health and raise more awareness to this to
end all of the pain and suffering not only in these men but in the friends and
families that have to deal with the emotional distress of losing their loved one to
suicide.
An article sharing Mental health professionals view about the
impact of male gender for the treatment of men with depression explained that
“women are perceived as being more likely to be exposed to social hardship
such as poverty or single parenting, resulting in adverse effects on their mental
health. At the same time, suicide rates among men worldwide are higher than
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among women” ⁴ This quote shows how mens mental health is visibly not as
addressed as other groups. Although mens suciude rates are higher than
womens, women are perceived to have a higher rate of mental health issues
because they are addressed more and they are more open to solving their
problems because they do not have the same societal expectations.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) make a very good point in
their article about mens mental health stating “Recognizing the signs that you or
someone you love may have a mental disorder is the first step toward getting
treatment. The earlier that treatment begins, the more effective it can be.”⁵ Since
we do not currently address mens mental health enough, the best way we can
help men who may be trying to push through their issues themselves is to
recognise the signs that they might be doing such. The NIMH list signs such as;
irritability, changes in mood/energy, sleeping too much/too little, anxiety,
substance abuse,persistant negativity, and more. By finding these signs in the
people around us we could just possibly save lives.
The biggest issue men currently have according to the above mentioned
articles and statistics, is that they fear becoming immasculated because of their
feelings. They fear that addressing their problems will make them less of a man
and therefore inferior to the rest of their peers. This should not be the case. By
bringing awareness to this issue we can validate these men and show them that
they are doing the right thing addressing their problems and seeking help.
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Works Cited
¹ Matthews, Lynda R., et al. “Exploring Men’s Use of Mental Health
Support Offered by an Australian Employee Assistance Program
(EAP): Perspectives from a Focus-Group Study with Males Working
in Blue- and White-Collar Industries.” International Journal of Mental
Health Systems, vol. 15, no. 1, Aug. 2021, pp. 1–17. EBSCOhost,
https://doi-org.sccollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s13033-021-00489-5.
² Shafer, Kevin, and Douglas Wendt. “Men’s Mental Health: A Call to
Social Workers.” Social Work, vol. 60, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 105–12.
EBSCOhost,
https://doi-org.sccollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/sw/swu061.
³ “Suicide Statistics.” American Foundation for Suicide Prevention,
10 July 2023, afsp.org/suicide-statistics/.
⁴ Stiawa, Maja, et al. “Mental Health Professionals View about the
Impact of Male Gender for the Treatment of Men with Depression - a
Qualitative Study.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 20, no. 1, June 2020, pp.
1–13. EBSCOhost,
https://doi-org.sccollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02686-x.
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⁵ “Men and Mental Health.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services,
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/men-and-mental-health. Accessed 5
Dec. 2023.