Mental illness can be a knackering predicament for anyone to go through. Unbiased in it’s choice, it can strike anyone irrespective of age, gender, profession or lifestyle. Surveys from across the globe depict that men almost in all places find it challenging to speak up about issues concerning their mental health, although they are pronouncedly more at risk of undertaking suicidal steps than women.
In this spesh feature, we talk about the factors leading to men’s mental illness and how to address the issue.
Owing to various circumstances including the upbringing of the men, role models they are exposed to, social norms, the culture of dismissal and the pressure of such influences, some men’s mental health issues remain unidentified for a long time or forever. Although there is an increasing upsurge about the existence, importance and acknowledgement of men’s mental health concerns, many men are yet not aware of some of the most common points of references that signal towards a possibility of a problem to be dealt with before it becomes a bigger challenge.
According to a 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report, in countries with high-income bar, suicide is three times higher a cause of death for men than women. Despite these reeling figures, statistics say that men are less likely than women to have accessed proper mental health support as and when required.
What can be the causes behind this? Some research extends logical explanations and suggests ways to improve the situation.
The stigma surrounding men’s mental health
WHO’s 2018 report points towards the cultural stigma attached to mental health as one of the main hiccups for people to admit their struggles and seek help. Sadly, this condemnation is specifically distinct from men. Termed by the media and health intellectuals as a ‘quiet infestation’, a ‘dormant concern bugging the minds of millions,’ and increasing frighteningly, mental health issues in men is public health distress that beseeches heed in an advertent manner. A lot of men don’t want to admit that they have a problem for which they may need help because of the stigma that still exists encompassing mental illness and the pressure on them to always be strong. They still see depression as a sign of weakness.
The implication of toxic masculinity
Unfortunately, the influence resulting in self-subjugation in men is not limited to only social stigma but research also suggests that some men face hurdles in establishing even the social connections. The way usually males are brought up indicates toxic masculinity. They are taught and expected to be strong and quiet, often pushed to take inspiration from the existing largely masculine role models in society. However, regrettably enough, such models have proven to be less effective and more harming in ways more than one, leading men to suppress their feeling of anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses.
Men may have dissimilar indicators
Experts also suggest that men may experience different symptoms than that of women for similar mental health illnesses. Usually, men with depression who conceal their sentiments, behave angry, irritable and aggressive whereas many women express their sadness easily. They also point out that a few symptoms and signs of depression are physiological such as digestive problems, headaches, a racing heart but men may more likely see their doctor for physical symptoms than the emotional ones.
Some common men’s mental health issues
As a result of various factors discussed earlier which includes upbringing, the role models we are presented with and the social norms, men’s mental health issues go unnoticed and eventually turn into a bigger problem to deal with. Below mentioned are some of the mental illnesses men may suffer from.
Loneliness Fundamentally it is a feeling of an absence of connection with the world around oneself. One may feel he doesn’t belong and no-one understands him.
Stress Stress is usually experienced when there is a disparity between what’s being expected of him and his capability to fulfil the demands, causing further discomfort and distress which may lead to other men’s mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
Depression Depression is a profound emotion of sadness that continues for an extended period of time, ranging from weeks and months up to years. Such strong sad feelings can meddle with the functioning of daily life, physical health and overall well being of a person.
Anxiety Anxiety is a mental issue where a person may remain in a consistent state of excessive fear and worry about perceived threats, which is more often than not out of measure to the actuality of the real circumstances. It usually is ongoing and can occur without any specific or genuine cause. Although many people tend to dismiss anxiety as just being worried or nervous, it is a serious condition and can be a crippling experience that gets in the way of living a comfortable life. It can have a major impact on both mental and physical health.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that is caused by being a part of a violent and/or a life-threatening event, such as a war. It is commonly seen in men who have served in combat. PTSD symptoms include reliving the traumatic event, remaining always on guard, having scary nightmares, feeling emotionally detached, having panic attacks, and sometimes suicidal thoughts.
Depression Depression is a mood disorderliness that results in an unwavering emotion of loss of interest and sadness. It influences one’s feelings, thinking and behavior that can lead to a number of emotional and physical health issues. Men with depression usually try to conceal their symptoms and true emotions resulting in their more angry and aggressive behaviour.
Eating and body image disorders Although common in women, eating disorders can affect men equally. Commonly observed serious eating disorders are Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. Sufferers can display abnormal attitudes toward their food and weight and may do excessive workout. On the other hand, men with body image problems may often get obsessed with their body parts such as muscles, genitals, hair and skin.
Bipolar disorder Formerly called manic-depressive illness or manic depression, Bipolar disorder is a mental health issue that causes unusual mood swings, changing activity levels, wavering concentration, dipping energy and the affected capacity to function on a daily basis. A state of exaggerated euphoria and high energy, this illness may result in sways between depression and mania.
Handling the mental health issues
At some point in time each one of us struggle with one or the other thing. What is vital is to call out for aid at an early stage to improve the probabilities of a faster recovery. Many men face trouble to figure out how to communicate about their feelings and get required support. Good amount of helpful information is available about different strategies and techniques that can help men cope with mental health issues, but first they have to be willing to try them. As a society, we have to ensure to change men’s perception regarding the stigma of asking for help. We need to see to it that men feel confident and comfortable in seeking support and that they receive the appropriate care. How can we do that? Let’s have a look at few important first steps:
- Awareness about mental health: Specialists mark that enhancing education about mental health is the first and important step in addressing these issues. They also emphasize on making men understand that seeking and receiving support is not a mark of weakness, rather a necessary action to maintain one particular feature of health that is as important as any other.
- Diminishing the stigma: Most men become victims of following blindly the false idea that they should always be strong enough and face all challenges of their lives on their own. They fear losing power by showing their vulnerability, even in the trivial matters like that of a physical illness. To address that and support men to come out of that mentality, the stigma of asking for help has to end first.
- Seeking medical aid: In many cases, the problem can be resolved with therapy rather than medicine as well. Healthcare providers are equipped with handling such issues, they can help one get the necessary treatment. Telling them about any grouchiness, depression or other abnormal moods and symptoms, one can acquire correct and timely treatment.
- Healthier ways of sharing the feelings: In stressful situations, yelling, acting out, becoming abusive & physical and turning to drugs & alcohol becomes the easy choices. Instead of giving into such hurtful and destructive actions, try something different. Breathe deeply and slowly, count upto 10, go in an open space and take some time to calm down.
- Managing the stress: Stressful situations at the workplace as well as at home can add to the symptoms of various mental illnesses. One should not hesitate to take a me- time out and go for the activities that one enjoys. Some of the safer and effective alternatives to choose from are yoga, meditation, brisk walking and pranayama.
- Working out: Researchers state that daily and regular exercise help alleviate the symptoms of depression. Regular practitioners of some kind of physical exercise are less likely to suffer from this mood illness.
- Self care: Everyone deserves to live with good self care. Regular exercises, enough of undisturbed sleep, healthy meals, hygienic living space, refraining excessive usage of alcohol, drug abuse are some of the practices that everyone should have access to, and live in a better frame of mind to cope with the mental disorders. Learning and practising safe coping methods can help bring these disorders under control.
- Saving oneself from self harm: Talking to someone and sharing immediately when one has thoughts of harming self, can save one from a probable mishap. Calling or going to a hospital emergency room can also be useful in such a situation. Asking a friend or a family member to stay back can prove supportive rather than staying alone.