By Haley Heisley
Mental Health is huge in today’s generation, and the only regret I hold about it is that I wish more attention was brought to it sooner! Mental health is affected by so much, including an individual’s career, community, trauma, health, education, family role, income and environment to name a few. We all know the importance of mental health for everyone, but this focuses on the sometimes overlooked, mental health of men.
Many men hold the idea in mind that they should not show emotion; they should “toughen up,” and to shed a tear would make them too vulnerable. However, the stigma should be destroyed because to repress such feelings only makes them build up which is more detrimental in the long run. To break this stigma, it is important to approach it from not only an emotional aspect, but also a biological one. When something is proven through the chemistry of our bodies, it may sometimes make us feel better to know there isn’t “something wrong with us,” but it’s actually a normal biological process occurrence. Low levels of testosterone are correlated with depression, stress and mood swings in men.
When looking at statistics, in the United States, over 6 million men suffer from depression each year even though it often goes undiagnosed. On top of that, 3,020,000 men have a panic disorder, agoraphobia, or any other phobias. When taking a look at eating disorders, an estimated 10% of males experience anorexia or bulimia and an estimated 35% have a binge-eating disorder. When taking a look at suicide rates, often proceeded by depression, the highest rates in the United States are found in Caucasian men over the age of 85 years old and more than 4 times as many men as women die by suicide. All of this stands proven, including how men are less likely to have received mental health treatment than woman in the past year.
It is important in order to raise awareness to this silent crisis and help men let go of the thoughts that with a mental illness they would be treated differently, not taken seriously, or labeled by their illness. It is also to provide everyone with the resources they can utilize if they feel as if their mental health needs attention. The sooner one begins treatment, the more effective it is. To get the treatment you need and push aside any fears is the most powerful way each individual can help break this stigma, and show the world they are strong to speak up.
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