Why is men’s mental health important? Going back in time, you’ll realize that men’s role in life is to be working out on the field and being “manly”. They grew up being told to never cry because it shows weakness. On top of that many people were told that “boys don’t cry.” Since the 1950’s, society has made the imagery that men should be a “man”. Many people also don’t know that men suicide rates are higher than women’s. According to this chart from https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-rates-by-state.html it shows the amount of how many people in total have committed, the amount of both genders have committed, and the percent it has changed within a year span.
Looking over the chart you will see there is a massive difference between the numbers. About 29,061 is the gap between both genders, that was from 2021 to last year.
Most of the time men commit suicide due to not being able to open up about their emotions. They’re seen as weak when they show their emotions, unless it’s through anger. Many people have different opinions whether men are seen as weak or not for showing their true emotions. Justine Tenifa had stated, “A “man” should be able to act in whatever way they want. They should not have to be held down by the stereotype.” Which is what many other females agree with. While on the other hand Tyson Clawson had stated that “It depends on the topic, and what is going on.” Many other males agree with that statement as well too.
There are many factors to why males want to commit and end up doing it. Males don’t open about their feelings and what is bothering them. It’s usually because it gets pushed to the side, when it shouldn’t. Men are human as well too. Not only that they’re not able to come out and talk about going through sexual assault, rape, domestic abuse, and more. Society has made the image that “Men cannot go through that”, due to being a “man”. Males stay quiet about what happened and dwell on it till they can’t handle it anymore. When they do speak up about it, they’re either accused of lying or being laughed at by others.
People don’t realize that this is a big topic to talk about, and to focus on. Everyday someone loses a dad, brother, son, etc. When males commit, it leaves people in question. The family of the person didn’t know what would or did cause them to commit. When you ask people if they are okay, the majority of those who explain their feelings are women. Men usually say, “No, but it’ll be fine.” Even when it’s not fine. Trent Pollock has stated, “No, a lot of men are dying because we can’t talk about our feelings at all. As a society we’ve normalized making fun of men who want or need to talk about their feelings so a lot of men would rather kill themselves than talk.” As a reply to the question “Do you think men are fine keeping things to themselves rather than expressing their feelings?”
The photos above are examples of a healthy, happy, and stable relationship/friendship. When men can see that the bond, they have is stable and that they are safe, they are able to enjoy themselves. They are able to be themselves knowing that they can and have someone to talk to when they are feeling some sort of way. Usually, the men that commit and they have people around them, it is mainly because they are not able to talk about their feelings to them. Men would rather commit when they know they don’t have someone to talk to.
Many people have talked about and made websites talking about men’s mental health. They’re not really that big, due to the topic not being that popular. Although many people say they care, they don’t really do anything to help. How can we work together to help out, to make this issue a bigger known topic?
