Men’s Mental Health Matters

Facing mental health challenges does not make you less of a man.

Read that again. Continue to read it until it sinks in. Repeat until you believe it. Because it’s true.

June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Like many other similar awareness months, weeks, or days, it’s designed to increase education, visibility, and understanding of the topic. However, when it comes to Men’s Mental Health Month, there is another key aspect to the conversation that might be the most important element of all: reducing or eliminating stigma.

Unlike many other topics that get their own focal period each year, men’s mental health often comes clouded in a great deal of misunderstanding, myth, and stigma. Whereas the target audience of so many other awareness events will freely embrace and engage in the conversation, when it comes to mental health, many men shy away from the topic or avoid it completely. The fear, for many men, is that if they admit encountering challenges like depression, anxiety, substance use, or suicidal thoughts, they’ll be considered somehow weak or less of a man. Societal norms dictate that males should “man up” and keep their struggles to themselves. So, often when facing the aforementioned obstacles, men suffer alone in silence, and the results can be devastating.

According to the CDC, men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women, making up 80% of suicide deaths. Mental Health America notes that six million men in the U.S. struggle with depression, and over three million have a panic disorder. One in ten will deal with depression and/or anxiety. Yet nearly half will never speak up and ask for help. Over 40% have never talked to anyone about their mental health. Rather than seeking support from peers or professionals, many men opt to self medicate, which accounts for the fact that men are twice as likely as women to develop substance use disorders.

These are your fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and sons. They are your husbands and partners. These are your coworkers. They are your friends. These are human beings. And ignorance and antiquated thinking is literally killing them.

And the idea that only “weak” men face mental health challenges is completely ridiculous. In recent years, numerous professional athletes (NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB), Olympians, mixed martial arts professionals, and members of the military have been open about their own struggles and vocal about the importance of men getting mental health support. Are they weak? Are they lesser men for having done that? Hardly.

Personally, anecdotally, some of the strongest men I have ever known have been the ones who have managed to walk through that fire and come out the other side intact. And the strongest of those strong men are the ones who go back through the fire to rescue those still in it. That is the antithesis of weak.

So what do we do about this?

1. Educate ourselves, individually and societally, about the impact that mental health challenges can have upon men. Learn what the most common struggles are, and how to recognize their signs and symptoms. In an era where all the knowledge in the world is literally at our fingertips on devices we carry in our pockets, there is no more excuse to not understand genuinely lifesaving information.
2. Destroy the stigma surrounding men’s mental health. The more that men, women, and society as a whole send the message that “mental health challenges don’t make you weak or less of a man,” the more that those struggling will feel welcome to speak up and ask for help. Don’t perpetuate harmful and ignorant myths regarding men’s mental health, or mental health in general.
3. Share your experience. The more that men who have overcome and worked through their own battles share their personal stories and what has helped them, the more that those currently in the midst of that fight will understand they aren’t alone and will recognize other men with whom they can talk about their struggles.
4. If you’re dealing with mental health issues, get connected to help. At the very least speak up to trusted individuals who you know are ready, willing, and able to support you. Better yet, seek professional help. If you are having suicidal thoughts or feelings, or helping someone who is, please call 988 (within the United States) to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If you’re not comfortable speaking to someone but need help and support, please text “HOME” to 741741 (within the United States) to reach the Crisis Text Line. Both of these resources are available 24-7-365. They are completely free and staffed by trained volunteers. If you are looking for substance use or mental health treatment facilities near you, please use the address/city/ZIP search tool here.
5. Dads, set the example for your sons. They look to you to determine what the norm is. Make conversations about mental health part of your routine with them. Just as you’d talk with them about taking care of their body, explain the importance of taking care of your mind. The earlier you can lay this foundation in their lives, the better. If they feel they can talk to you about their own challenges, be they physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, etc., they will be more likely to come to you when they need help as opposed to suffering in silence.

These steps may seem incredibly simple, but the truth is that simple solutions and strategies are often the most effective. The more that we make the five items above the norm, the more quickly we can begin to turn the tide in terms of men’s mental health. And the result of that shift will be seen in lives changed for the better and lives saved.