Bring in Positive Masculinity, Combat High Suicide Rate in Men

Bring in ‘Positive Masculinity’, Combat High Suicide Rate in Men

Introduction

Men’s mental health is a topic surrounded by stigma and social pressure to conceal true feelings. Many men report that they fear negative judgement from their peers if they were to confide to struggling with emotional issues. Researchers have found that men are more anxious about seeking professional help to treat their mental disorder as it would somehow indicate??that they are not strong enough, put a question mark on their resilience and so even their masculinity. Mental health campaigners have linked this added stigma which is specific to men, partially to ‘toxic masculinity’. Unsurprisingly, the new concept of ‘positive masculinity’ is suggested as one of the ways to tackle this challenge.?

We have seen a rise in the popularity of certain designated periods in the year during which certain campaigns pick up momentum, Men’s Mental Health Week is one of them. The hope is to help stamp out stigma, misinformation and myths in favour of providing accurate information, raising awareness and encouraging men to come forward when they struggle. This would go a long way in them being able to find the right help and support.?

A step forward in this direction would be to increase awareness of mental health problems that disproportionately affect men according to Men’s Health Forum.

Mental Health problems are common and affect 1 in four people of any gender, but there are some key gender differences when it comes to reporting these problem.?

A statistic that highlights the scale of this problem is that although over 20% of women in England and Wales report mental disorder such as depression or anxiety, only 13% of men do, according to an important scientific study. And yet men made up nearly 75% of suicides in England and Wales in 2021 (ONS, 2022), despite the above, this indicates that men do suffer from similar difficulties as women but fail to report. This makes suicide the commonest cause of death in men aged 45 or younger. This worrying discrepancy between men’s self-reported rates of mental disorders and rate of suicide raises an important question; Why don’t men want to talk about their poor mental health condition to this extreme level?

Stigma??

Stigma, described as feelings of disapproval that people have about particular illnesses or ways of behaving in Oxford dictionary is cited as the main reason behind this hesitation in men to come forward with poor mental health. We are very aware that stigma one mental illness exists for everyone and for all forms of mental disorders but these findings above demonstrate that it is much worse for men, to the extent that they would rather end their lives than admit suffering with them.?

The Concept of ‘Toxic Masculinity’

There is intense societal pressure for men to appear and behave in a certain way (Mental Health Foundation, 2021). They are expected to stay strong under all circumstances, control of their feelings. These ideas are ingrained in men over a thousands of years, when physical strength was synonymous with emotional strength. This continued into the modern times with the concept of ‘big boys don’t cry’. The idea of “manliness” perpetuates amongst other harmful aspects of domination, homophobia, and aggression, also a strong resistance in being able to seek help or express emotions.?

‘Toxic masculinity’, a term coined by Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022 refers to a set of harmful beliefs and behaviours associated with traditional societal standards of masculinity. It includes notions of dominance, emotional suppression, aggression, and the devaluation of anything perceived as stereotypically feminine, such as seeking help from others (Harrington, 2021), as deplorable for men. This ‘Toxic Masculinity’ being propagated by male social models on social media have further perpetuated these ideas and beliefs with the youngest and most vulnerable boys and men falling victim to this extremely harmful philosophy.

Unfortunately, even in our post millennial times, studies have shown that men believe that peers would judge them as weak if they disclosed common mental health conditions (McKenzie et al., 2022). Other research found that young men were fearful of this negative judgement, not only for admitting to having a mental health condition but also for being seen to seek help from mental health professionals (Clarke et al., 2018). Equally, there is ample evidence that seeking help for mental disorders and talking candidly about their emotions left many men feeling vulnerable, ashamed and reluctant to engage further with mental health services (Ferguson et al., 2019).?

The next natural question then is, with such powerful and pervasive social pressures and stigma surrounding men’s mental health and wellness, Is there any hope of making things easier and better?

Toxic Masculinity vs. Positive Masculinity

The first step in addressing the source of this harmful concept is recognising it for what it is and naming it. This set of beliefs is often reinforced by the society and even by men themselves. There is pervasive use of dismissive and derisive language used to discourage people who do come forward, such as, “man up!”, “Don’t cry like a girl” etc.(Young Minds, 2022). Such attitudes ought to be rooted out, with a complete overhaul of such vocabulary and more widely our belief systems, especially amongst young people.

A number of researchers believe that another effective way to tackle the problem of toxic masculinity is by supporting a new form of ‘positive masculinity’. This promotes healthy attitudes and behaviours that encourage men to feel free to be themselves rather than conform to societal expectations. To express their emotions and feel empowered rather than weak when doing so (Wilson, 2022; Di Bianco & Mahalik, 2022). We are therefore all responsible to shatter these age-old beliefs which perpetuate pain.?

The long-term support and practice of such attitudes and beliefs will allow men to find the emotional freedom that women currently feel they have, going towards preventing the silent suffering amongst men, that can sometimes cost their lives.

References

Men’s Health Forum. (2023). Men’s Health Week 2023.??Men’s Health Forum. Available at: https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/mhw (Accessed: 30 May 2023).?

McManus, S., Bebbington, P., Jenkins, R., Brugha, T. (2016) Adult psychiatric morbidity survey: Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014, GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/adult-psychiatric-morbidity-survey-mental-health-and-wellbeing-england-2014 [Accessed: 30 May 2023].?

Office for National Statistics. (2022) Suicides in England and Wales: 2021 registrations, Suicides in England and Wales - ONS. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2021registrations (Accessed: 30 May 2023).?

Mental Health Foundation. (2021). Men and Mental Health. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/men-and-mental-health (Accessed: 30 May 2023).?

McKenzie, S.K., Oliffe, J.L., Black, A., Collings, S. (2022) Men’s Experiences of Mental Illness Stigma Across the Lifespan: A Scoping Review. American Journal of Men’s Health. 2022;16(1). doi:10.1177/15579883221074789

Clark L. H., Hudson J. L., Dunstan D. A., Clark G. I. (2018). Barriers and facilitating factors to help-seeking for symptoms of clinical anxiety in adolescent males. Australian Journal of Psychology, 70, 225–234.?https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12191

Ferguson N., Savic M., McCann T. V., Emond K., Sandral E., Smith K., Roberts L., Bosley E., Lubman D. I. (2019). “I was worried if I don’t have a broken leg they might not take it seriously”: Experiences of men accessing ambulance services for mental health and/or alcohol and other drug problems.?Health Expectations, 22(3), 565–574.?https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12886

Anxiety and Depression Association of America, (ADAA) (2022) What is Toxic Masculinity and How it Impacts Mental Health, Available at: https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/what-toxic-masculinity-and-how-it-impacts-mental#:~:text=This%20%E2%80%9Cman%20up%E2%80%9D%20attitude%20matures,when%20injured%20or%20emotionally%20struggling. (Accessed: 30 May 2023).?

Harrington, C. (2021). What is “Toxic Masculinity” and Why Does it Matter??Men and Masculinities,?24(2), 345–352.?https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20943254

Young Minds. (2022).Toxic masculinity and Mental Health: Real Stories. Available at: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/blog/toxic-masculinity-and-mental-health/ (Accessed: 30 February 2023).?

Wilson, M.J. (2022) Cultivating positive masculinity is mental health promotion for boys and men,?Health Promotion International, Volume 37, Issue 4, August 2022, daac121,?https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daac121

Di Bianca, M. and Mahalik, J. R. (2022). A relational-cultural framework for promoting healthy masculinities. American Psychologist, 77, 321–332. doi:10.1037/amp0000929