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There is a crisis in men’s mental health.
Three out of four people who take their own lives are men.
Males have higher rates of alcohol and substance abuse than women and two in five men say they feel worried or low on a regular basis.
Those who identify as transwomen or non-binary are also at higher risk of depression, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.
Men are also less likely to ask for help when they are struggling with poor mental health – they only account for only 36% of referrals to NHS psychological therapies.
One study in men with depression found that only 8.5% were receiving mental health support. However, two-thirds had thoughts about suicide or self-harm in the previous two weeks.
Gender stereotypes
Traditional views of masculinity often prevent men from seeking support and stereotypes also discourage displays of emotion.
The same gender stereotypes are also associated with unhealthy coping mechanisms, potentially including self-medicating with alcohol and drugs.
While there is less stigma around poor mental health, it still exists, and particularly in male dominated industries.
This has tragic consequences. The suicide rate for men working in the construction industry, driving and the trades is far higher than the male average.
Nick Fletcher, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Issues Affecting Men and Boys notes that men do talk if the environment is right, where there will not be real or imagined consequences.
But he adds: “Ensuring the workplace culture is mentally healthy is crucial.”
The way to build this is through positive conversations and signposting the right resources.
Prevented suicides
Construction and civil engineering firm, BAM UK & Ireland, is showing how this can be achieved.
It began by creating welcoming wellbeing rooms with a sofa and hot drinks, which are a place for safe conversations.
Records were kept anonymous and confidential. They also confirmed the facility was addressing a real need – in the first three months 70 of the 300 employees on site had used the wellbeing room.
Ruth Pott, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at BAM says: “What we found in practice is that people would come and talk about something to do with safety, or to have a general chat.
“Then the conversation would then turn to… ‘while I’m here, can I just talk to you about such and such’.
“I have absolutely no doubt that if we hadn’t created the safe place and the opportunity for people to come forward and get help we would have had more accidents and incidents, and actually I would even go as far as to say that we would have had one or two suicides.”
For resources and guides on how to promote men’s health in the workplace, take a look at the full article here.
This article has been abbreviated by Health & Protection.