The push for mental health awareness has been progressive. Laws have been adjusted, or even introduced to acknowledge the altering social cultural dynamics and institutions have created programs to care for the well-being of the population. However, the issue that has not had much people talking is in regards to men’s mental health.
It is widely understood that mental illness holds no boundaries – it affects everyone and anyone. So why has men’s mental health not be on the forefront of this ever-growing movement? Well, cultural expectations and limitations have certainly contributed to a large part of the problem. First and foremost, the whole notion of “men’s mental health” is considerably new, according to the Toronto Men’s Mental Health Network. In other words, research surrounding men’s mental well-being has not been a demanding priority and has not shown valuable interest to researchers.
In the same way, cultural expectations have historically and currently made it profoundly difficult for men to unify publicly against this issue. Gender expectations typically suggest that it is rather normative for women to unify together and emotionally express their despairs. Unfortunately, for men, it is a disfavour to display such attributes. Masculinity in Western culture consequently emphasizes a man’s ability to demonstrate absolute toughness physically and perhaps, emotionally. When a man deviates from this expected standard, he becomes socially isolated and stigmatized as weak. It is actively discouraged for men to display any level of emotional vulnerability and this is observed to be “masculine role socialization.” Due to gender norm conformity and the ideals to be independent and controlled, men experience an incredible amount of pressure which can lead to them suppressing their emotional turmoil.
Through this suppression of their symptoms, men heartbreakingly, deny themselves the ability to recognize depression when it is present and therefore, unintentionally dismiss symptoms. They may also downplay their symptoms to convince themselves that that their problem is not as severe. Regrettably, ignoring or covering up one’s symptoms can surely make symptoms and mental health worse. In a more problematic sense, men are more confrontative and resistant with treatment because they face more social consequences like respect and admiration from the peers and family.
What can be done though to help? One of the most integral things we could do as part of the mental health awareness movement, is to help the rest of society realize that it is completely normal for men to experience vulnerability. It is absolutely imperative that we reassure men that it is acceptable to seek help and to reinforce social supports for them, just as women do. Society has a responsibility to contribute to the betterment of every citizen and to acknowledge suffering, not make it more difficult. This can be accomplished through the promotion of men-mental health focused campaigns. Once men’s experiences and struggles regarding mental health becomes acknowledged, then true inclusivity can be appreciated and progress can be acknowledged.
