Movember
November is Men’s Health Awareness Month with International Men’s Day falling on November 19th. Men’s Health Awareness Month is dedicated to bringing awareness to a wide range of men’s health issues. As we focus on men this month, we can’t ignore that men tend to be more reluctant to seek help or treatment for their mental health struggles (Chatmon, 2020).
In comparison to women, men are almost half as likely to report seeking professional help for their mental health concerns (Oliver et al., 2005). Correspondingly, men consisted of approximately a third of the referrals to mental health services in the National Health System in England in 2019-2020. The lower rate of treatment use is particularly concerning considering that across the world men are almost twice as likely to die by suicide than women. This is exemplified by the public suicide of a man on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. this month, citing a lifelong struggle with depression and personal and career difficulties. It is clear that the mental health field is not doing enough to support men’s mental health and there is a need to devote more efforts to preventing such deadly consequences.
Comments