Blog Post Four

Men’s Mental Health

For this blog, I began the researching process for my final project on Mental Health Awareness.

I had originally had the idea of improving awareness of mental health and mental illnesses to many different demographics. (The youth, men, women, and people of the LGBTQ community.) But the scope of people that can be reached is too broad for me to try to take on in one project. Also while I believe that all of these different groups deserve attention and resources, for the sake of this project I am going to focus my attention on the group that is most affected by mental health problems and seek out treatment the least,which are men. The reason i’m focusing on this group of people is that the rate of men that are dying by way of suicide is concerning.

And the more I thought about it, the more it began to trouble me. My father has always struggled with his mental health and I myself have struggled with mental illness and after years of watching my father struggle to seek help which oftentimes led to dangerous consequences. This is a real issue especially in the Latino community in which I am a part of.

In a typical Latino household, most issues are dealt with at home. Issues dealing with mental health especially are “fixed” at home which normally means that things are swept under the rug and hopefully forgotten.

About two years ago, I had two uncles commit suicide in my family. It was something that sent a shock wave through our whole family and shed new light to the struggles that we all face. I can’t help but think that if they had received proper care for their mental issues, then maybe they would still be around today.

According to the Mental Health America website, 6 million males are affected by Depression a year.

The website gives a lot of facts regarding men’s mental health and even states that June is Men’s Health Month.

Some facts given:

• The highest suicide rates in the U.S. are found in Caucasian men over the age of 85.
• More than 4 times as many men as women die by suicide in the U.S.
• Male suicides are on the rise. It is the 7th leading cause of death for men.
• Factors including substance abuse, unemployment, military drama, and sexual orientation lead to a higher risk of suicide.
• Due to social norms and toxic masculinity, men are less likely to speak up about symptoms of depression and anxiety and less likely to seek out treatment which leads to higher suicide rates.

Taking into account these statistics it makes sense that men are dying by suicide at alarming rates. If they are unwilling to ask for help when it comes to issues as dangerous as Depression and Anxiety, then this epidemic is going to continue to get out of hand.

Having narrowed down who I want to target, now I can begin to focus on ways to help this group of people. I want to find ways in which we can help break break down the stigma surrounding men and having to always be put together, not show emotions, strong, and as protectors. The pressure placed on men in our society is damaging to both men and women. If we can somehow create an advocacy campaign (Maybe on Social media Platforms), then maybe we can try to reach as many people as possible, and hopefully save some lives.