Men and Mental Health

Welcome to the month of June. As we celebrate Father’s Day this June, we dedicate this month's theme to men.

It is titled: Men and mental health. 

Men you matter, your emotions are valid and yes, your dreams are valid too.

Research records that in Africa and Nigeria the internalisation of masculinity has been recognized to make the male gender more susceptible to mental health issues.

Our attitude towards mental illness is gravely coloured with prejudice and misconceptions. 

According to the WHO;

Depression is now the 2nd deadliest disease and by 2030 it will be the world’s number one killer 

1 in 4 Nigerians – some 50 million people – are suffering from some sort of mental illness. 

Nigeria is the 7th-largest country in the world, Nigeria has Africa’s highest caseload of depression, and ranks 15th in the world in the frequency of suicide. 

Depression is the leading cause of suicide, and are both ranked as a leading cause of death among men, yet they are far less likely to seek mental health treatment than women.

Alcohol consumption and substance abuse are very high in Nigeria today.

Nigerian Breweries recorded sales of almost N300 billion in 2015 while Guinness is expected to record sales of N275 billion totalling almost =N=600 Billion (About $3 billion) which is about 3% of our GDP. 

That is about 3billion bottles of beer. That is about 20 bottles per person per year. 

Men consume more beer than women.

Mental Health America reports 6 million men are affected by depression in the United States every single year.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism puts the annual number of men dying due to alcohol-related causes at 62,000, compared to 26,000 women.

Also, men are 2 to 3 times more likely to misuse drugs than women.

Many marriages, wives and children today are suffering the brunt of the mental health state of the men

This month we are going to be helping men deal with some of the triggers of mental ill-health, we will be empowering men by taking them on a journey of self-discovery, self-awareness and acceptance, self-expression and then, self-mastery. 

We are committed to helping men heal, find happiness, peace, fulfilment, satisfaction and success.

I will like to use this medium to appeal to all women to empathize with us, create an enabling environment and safe space where we can be ourselves, vulnerable, without guilt or shame.

Shalom 

The Catalyst