In recent years, mental health awareness has taken a boost; now we all talk about mental health and its importance, and are sensitized about its importance. People are encouraged to speak up, go to therapy and emotional wellbeing is being prioritized. Yet, despite this, one group continue to suffer in silence Men. The statistics say that the suicide rate of Indian men is 3 times that of Indian women, and it is alarming.
We are still very silent about wellbeing and mental health of men. The extreme societal pressure, expectations, and burden lead men towards depression, distress and emotional insensitivity.
Since childhood, a boy is taught not to cry, not to show basic human emotions, be strong, and whatnot, and this conditioning creates emotional distress and leads to emotional suppression. As result, men are less likely to share their distress, emotion or seek help, leading them to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, increased aggression, social withdrawal and self-harm.
Why Men Don’t Seek Help?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Men are significantly less likely to receive mental health treatment compared to women
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Social Stigma: Though we all are working very hard to remove the social stigma but it will not happen immediately. People still think talking about mental health means you are weak and if a man talks about it its worse. Clinical case: When I asked a patient about his suicidal marks and asked him why he didn’t talk about his stress with friends or family? He replied: “They’ll think that I am a weak man.”
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Lack of Emotional Awareness: For so many years, men are told to hide their emotions from a very young age that basic human emotions become alien to most of the men.
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Fear of Judgment: Most men are constantly judged and misunderstood. The constant pressure of prove themselves adds to the societal pressure and judgment.
The conversation about mental health has just begun, let us not forget Men in that. Let’s acknowledge Men present in our life, create a safe space for them where we can express themselves freely without fear of judgment, and teach our boys that crying is not a sign of weak men, it’s just an emotion, and it is also important.
Some research papers to get to know more about this topic:
Is society expecting men to be strong in cost of their mental health?
MBH/PS