The Quiet Crisis Behind Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month

Every June, something important happens that most of us don’t talk about enough. Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month arrives, shining a light on struggles that millions of men face every single day but rarely share with anyone. It’s not that these struggles don’t exist or that they’re not serious. The problem is much simpler and much more heartbreaking than that most men just don’t feel like they can talk about it. There is always something big that occurs every June and we all tend to ignore it. We are entering Mental Health Awareness Month, the month when we focus an attention of millions of guys on the stuff they have to deal with on an everyday basis but never speak about. This stuff does not not exist or is not serious, it is just much easier and much more tearfully true that the majority of men cannot find the heart to open up.

Imagine the last time you had posed a question to a guy in your life on how he was really doing. Not the common place Hey, what’s up? we all hurl out there as an introduction, but an inquiry as to whether he was okay mentally. You must have heard a fast I am alright or Hey everything is all right. Now suppose that that was the case. The ability to get off with that single dodge, the tendency to deny the actual seriousness, is the root cause of what we are terming as the silent crisis. Such an instinctive evading, such an acquired habit of sweeping off a person who cares, is at the very core of what we are terming the silent crisis.

The Hidden Nature of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month

Are the numbers shared above startling? Men are nearly 4 times more likely to die from suicide than women. This is not the only shocking stat. It is also the case that men are much less likely to seek support for things like mental illness, which can include depression, anxiety, and other issues. As of 2022 nearly 1 in 5 men in the U.S. had some sort of mental illness. 2023 also shows that 17% of men in the U.S. have had a mental health illness in the past year compared to 28.5% of women. These stats are definitely things that should be scrutinized. Indeed no response would be more foolish than assuming that men are simply less likely to feel things. The real answer is also one of the few things that would be universally accepted. Starting from a young age, boys are socialized into certain behavioral patterns. I think most would agree this socialization is without a doubt a form of violence.

The Weight of Traditional Masculinity in Men’s Mental Health

Consider the example of a little kid who skids and scrapes some skin off his knee, what do people tell him? “Big boys don’t cry.” “Don’t be a baby.” These kinds of statements sound like encouragement and support, but they reinforce that assuaging pain and vulnerability are qualities of weakness and that asking for help is wrong.

Boys are conditioned from a very young age to suppress their feelings which is referred to as “manerming`.” Becoming emotionally closed off is actually something that is encouraged and expected from men in their adult years, if anything, the encouragement is pressured even more at this adult stage. Men are expected to be the forte as well as the support and problem-solver. This is not something that is new and unique in today’s day age but rather something that has been default for years in a patriarchal worldview. This includes workplaces and even families who are trying to help and support.

The default in our society is that men should not cry because it is a sign of weakness. This has resulted in a generation of men who are closed off, view therapy as something only weak people do, and ponder in their own problems instead of asking for help.

Breaking Down Barriers to Men’s Mental Health Support

So what’s stopping men from getting help? It is primarily barriers and their interconnectedness that makes it challenging men to seek help, at all.

Stigma comes first. 40% of American men say they don’t talk about their mental health due to embarrassment. 38% say it has to do with stigma. The fear of judgment, and emotional concerns is real. Men especially worry about being seen as weak, unreliable, or emotionally damaged.

Moving to the more practical side, expenses, inconvenient hours, and not knowing where to find a provider were concerns for 23% of men who hadn’t accessed therapy yet, as shown in a 2021 study. The trouble begins with figuring out where to even start. Which therapist should they choose? Does the insurance even cover anything? That costs money, and is it at a time that’s outside of work?

Equally concerning is the lack of emotional vocabulary. It is not the silence itself, but not knowing how to identify or articulate emotions.

As an example, when someone has spent a lifetime being told not to pay attention to the feelings/enervating and discomforting sensations that come with anxiety, then they will have a much harder time pinpointing the experience anxiety entails.

Inequity in Men’s Mental Health

It is also worth mentioning that these issues do not equally affect all men. Men who are part of racial minorities face even more severe mental health impacts due to a greater level of systemic discrimination and the unique cultural and health care challenges they are confronted with.

Stigmatization for men’s mental health and its treatments, as well as, issues surrounding their authentication persists among Black, Asian and Indigenous populations. For instance, a report indicates the number of suicides among Black Americans increased by 58% between 2011 and 2021. This group of men faces additional cultural and systemic barriers that amplify the stigma associated with men’s mental health and make it even more difficult for them to seek assistance.

Considering socioeconomic circumstances also sheds light on some of these mysteries. Poor men in particular suffer from certain mental health ramifications due to a scarcity of money. In the most deprived areas of England, mortality occurs at an exceedingly young age, a staggering 81% higher than the country’s least deprived areas. What’s particularly challenging to fix is the mental health of an individual who is lacking in the most fundamental requirements of life: food and shelter.

Geographical and socioeconomic factors aside, men of the LGBTQ+ community also have their unique set of circumstances to contend with. Mental health illnesses and disorders, particularly those presented with elevated suicidal ideation even prior to the age of 25, is most pronounced in the heterosexual counterparts of the gay and bisexual men. We could go on to highlight the unique challenges and pressures each man faces, but in addition to those unique attributes, men also contend with a lack of tolerance, the stigma surrounding mental health, the discrimination and rejection that often accompanies these issues, and the self-loathing pressure that comes with being a mental health suffering individual.

Now, just to get you focused, let’s skip over the old stereotype of men not opening up to say that one of the men you know is currently opening up. When that happens, try to avoid the immediate urge to problem-solve or invalidate the issue in the most trivial of ways: “It sounds really hard what you are going through” is far more useful than “I’ve heard you were going through a rough patch. Have you tried exercising? It could be worse.” Most of the time, they are looking for that validation more than trying to solve the problem at hand.

Increased Accessibility of Mental Health Services for Men

There should be an emphasis on providing more affordable mental health services and resources. 26\% of men have not obtained any form of mental health services in a year. So not only is this a mental health issue, but it shows how men have an overall disengagement from the healthcare system.

There needs to be more training on how health care professionals understand and recognize the mental health of men. Doctors may recognize irritability, risk taking, and substance abuse but may not see the bigger picture. It is possible for these symptoms to be associated with an illness, but can also be associated with depression, anxiety, and be a cry for help. Understanding how mental health issues in men need to be recognized differently can help doctors find more effective solutions.

There should be a cultural shift in how society views therapy and preventative care. Getting an oil change, for example, is a simple maintenance task that can be performed to prevent the car from breaking down. So why wait for a mental health crisis to get preventive maintenance on mental health? Men can help themselves before the problems in their life become overwhelming. Talking to a therapist does not have to be a huge issue, and can be a simple and easy step, even in a man’s life is not super chaotic.

This will help them avoid needing to use those coping skills repeatedly.

Why Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month Matters More Than Ever

Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month is not about posting on social media or wearing certain colors. It is meant to create a specific window to address and prioritize a significant issue that impacts millions and is ignored on a regular basis. It is aimed at a multi-pronged mental health approach to spark dialogue and re-direction of attention to the issue to sustain advocacy and support.

Throughout the month there is media engagement and resource dissemination from organizations that facilitate dialogue that is often left uninitiated. This engagement is meant to facilitate communication from men who may have been hesitant to speak and distribute support materials to those in their communities.

There is incentive to keep things as they are. Just understanding an issue isn’t enough to have those wished for outcomes. The issue isn’t that the people are ignorant to the situation, they are. The issue is constructing obstacles that exists that hinders men from getting the proper resources and support. Sustained effort is needed to go beyond the limits of a single month.

Making Real Change After Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month

Culture shifts must occur concerning modern-day “masculinity” and the concept of “vulnerability.” Men do not have to become less masculine and masculine traits do not have to be viewed as negative. Strength, resilience, and mental toughness are good qualities. The issue, however, is that the traits and qualities are insensitively described in a way that promotes exclusivity towards the fundamental and basic need of being human to feel.

The definition of what is strong must be broadened. It takes a lot of courage to admit that you are struggling. Real strength lies in the act of asking for help. Those are not signs of weakness self-awareness and wisdom are present. The clearer and more consistent we are with the message, the less we distance ourselves from men and the more the scared step towards help is taken.

If we want men to have the ability to cope and deal with their mental health, we must change the way we act in the present, to have more of an impact and be more constructive in future. The ability to teach emotional literacy must be a core element in the construction of a policy or strategy that seeks to support the mental health of boys.

Spectrums of Men’s Mental Health Awareness

There is a survey conducted and it is true from that survey that 95 percent of men in the community said that mental health is very important like physical health is, and it is only the younger men that is true. Change is here and change is coming. The framework is being altered and the right path is foreseen. There is the most work to be done. It is on the community to shift work to ensure change positivity, and that is being done. 95 percent of men in the community have stated that mental health is just as important. 95 percent is the answer. To some men reading this, we realize that they might be thinking that we are NOT speaking to them, if this is you, you are right. Please feel free to just reach out and talk to someone. It is giving up. It is just taking a first step, and that first step is worth taking. It is worth it for you, and it is also worth it for the people that care for you. It might be difficult to just reach out, know that it is NOT weakness, and know that you are not alone. There are people out there that really want to assist you. You are NOT alone.

If you know a guy who is having tough times, give him a chance to open up. Offer him a safe space to know that it is okay to speak out, and that you will not pressure him. Offer him a safe space to know that it is okay to speak out without pressure. Just showing up and letting them know that you care is sometimes the most powerful and helpful thing you can do.

Conclusion

The truth is, none of this is going to change overnight. Men don’t suddenly wake up one morning ready to spill everything they’ve kept inside for years. But we can make it easier for them to try. That’s really what Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month should push us toward not a surge of posts in June, but a shift in how we treat each other the rest of the year. If the guys around us felt like they had even one person who wouldn’t judge them, more would talk before things get out of hand. And if you’re a man reading this and you feel like none of this applies to you, it probably applies more than you want to admit. Reaching out isn’t surrender. It’s the first step toward feeling like yourself again. The crisis may be quiet, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.