{"id":943,"date":"2024-11-06T14:09:14","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T14:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/?page_id=943"},"modified":"2024-11-13T09:16:54","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T09:16:54","slug":"mens-mental-health-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/mental-health-and-wellbeing\/links-to-national-campaigns-and-events\/mens-mental-health-awareness-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every November is home to\u00a0men\u2019s mental health<\/a> awareness month. Men experience disproportionately high-rates of suicide<\/a>, with death by suicide being the biggest killer of men under the age of 50 in the UK. There are many reasons why men might talk less about mental health, such as societal expectations of masculinity. Each November, we tackle this stigma and encourage men to talk.<\/p>\n

Mental illness affects people of every gender, and while the specifics may differ, it\u2019s incorrect to assume that men don\u2019t struggle simply because they are often portrayed, or expected, to be strong and silent. This expectation is rooted in toxic masculinity and has resulted in poor mental health outcomes for men. Men are more likely to experience substance abuse and exhibit violence, and more likely to die by suicide. Skewed expectations around how men should display emotion can lead to a fear of being judged, or for crying or appearing \u201cweak.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Media and television shows often portray crying men as something to be mocked, but mocking this healthy, human emotional release only serves to discourage men from crying and talking to others about their difficulties.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Statistics about men\u2019s mental health<\/h2>\n

While women are more likely to be diagnosed with common mental disorders than men, this doesn\u2019t mean that men don\u2019t struggle with their mental health.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\n
\n

12.5%<\/h3>\n

Of men in England have a mental health disorder.
\nNHS Digital<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3 times<\/h3>\n

more men are likely to die by suicide in England than females.
\nSamaritans (2023)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Almost double<\/h3>\n

the rate of men die from alcohol-specific causes than women.
\nOffice for National Statistics (2022)<\/a><\/p>\n

Why men might hide their mental health struggles<\/h2>\n
\n

Societal expectations<\/h3>\n
\n

Toxic masculinity is a term describing certain<\/span><\/span>\u00a0unhelpful<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0assumptions about what it means to be \u201cmasculine\u201d such as being stoic, not showing emotions, or being outwardly violent<\/span>\u00a0and \u201ctough\u201d<\/span>\u00a0versus being\u00a0<\/span>\u201csoft\u201d and emotional.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>These\u00a0<\/span>perceptions<\/span>\u00a0can be perpetuated by<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0the media<\/span><\/span>, which<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0portrays\u00a0<\/span><\/span>men showing vulnerability<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0as \u201cweak\u201d and something to be m<\/span>ocked.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Response from others<\/h3>\n
\n

Regardless of which gender they\u00a0<\/span>open up<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>about how they are feeling,<\/span>\u00a0men are\u00a0<\/span>often told to \u201cman up\u201d and to bury their struggles.\u00a0<\/span>They may even be bullied by their peers.\u00a0<\/span>This discourages them from reac<\/span>hing out for help<\/span>\u00a0again in the future.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Race<\/h3>\n
\n

Due to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>systemic racism<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and social expectations of masculinity,\u00a0<\/span>Black men\u00a0<\/span>are more likely to hide their mental health struggles<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>are\u00a0<\/span>more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Hea<\/span>lth Act, and<\/span>\u00a0face disproportionate barriers to seeking help.<\/span>\u00a0You can find out more about the impact of race on mental health\u00a0<\/span><\/span>on this page.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Resources to Support\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

D-EXY has a whole section designated to boys and men’s mental health – it only takes a minute to sign up…and it’s free…join up here!\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every November is home to\u00a0men\u2019s mental health awareness month. Men experience disproportionately high-rates of suicide, with death by suicide being the biggest killer of men under the age of 50 in the UK. There are many reasons why men might talk less about mental health, such as societal expectations of masculinity. Each November, we tackle … Continue reading Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12907,"featured_media":0,"parent":27,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-943","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12907"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":945,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/943\/revisions\/945"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/schoolcounselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}