Men’s reluctance to talk about how they’re feeling persists despite the recent spotlight on good mental health, so what can be done about it?
Let’s start with some shocking statistics. Three times as many men as women die from suicide. Around one in eight men has a common mental health issue such as depression or anxiety. Men are nearly three times as likely as women to become dependent on alcohol.
Yet the reluctance many men experience in talking about how they’re feeling or seeking help continues.
We’ve seen a huge increase in customers accessing our SimplyConsult and EAP services over the past year, but proportionally we still see far fewer men than women accessing counselling services.
So how can we make a tangible difference to this situation?
Gaining Insight
Changing the conversation was the impetus behind our Everyman’s Health Matters initiative focused on improving men’s mental health. To gain insight, we carried out a survey called Don’t keep it to yourself. More than 850 men aged over 18 responded, and the results were fascinating.
First it’s true: the majority of men admitted that they don’t like talking about these things.
Our survey told us that 53% of men believe their mental health and physical health are equally important, but more than 80% find it easier to talk about their physical health than their mental health. Only 7% of men would prioritise mental over physical health.
We also discovered that a quarter of men last saw a healthcare professional between one and five years ago – although more positively, 14% have been seen within the last year.
Many respondents said they felt their issues weren’t serious enough or felt a sense of guilt because others needed seeing more, and this delayed – or prevented – them from visiting a GP.
It’s good to talk
Armed with these insights, we organised a webinar to delve deeper.
Chaired by Simplyhealth clinical director Catherine Rutland, the panel consisted of medical experts, including GP and cosmetic doctor Manav Bawa, performance psychologist Charlie Unwin, principal dentist Ritesh Aggarwal, and entertainer Martin Kemp.
Using their personal experiences, the panellists covered a wide range of topics that can contribute to men being less open about their mental health.
For example, speaking about his own experience of being diagnosed with two brain tumours in 1995, Martin Kemp said: “The reason I’ve not wanted to talk about my health, pretty much all the way through that brain tumour period of my life, was because I didn’t want it to affect my family as well as myself.”
Getting men talking
He isn’t alone in wanting to keep quiet and protect his family – our survey results back up his views.
Almost 60% of respondents felt that gender expectations stop men from seeking help, and more than 15% of men do not feel comfortable speaking with anyone about their health, not even their family or friends.
This is something Manav Bawa recognises in his daily practice: “I’ll probe patients, because you can get a sense sometimes that something else is going on, but it’s quite hard to break barriers that have been instilled for years.”
Nearly two thirds (63%) of men responding to our survey had never sought professional help for their mental health so, during the webinar, the importance of a preventive approach via annual screenings, minimalistic interventions and monitoring things like blood pressure over time was discussed.
Rather than waiting for crunch point to be reached, the same approach could be taken with mental health. After all, good health is not just the absence of bad health.
The time is now
The pandemic seems to have been a double-edged sword for men’s mental health, increasing the issue for some but, equally, forcing focus onto the topic.
It’s a shift that was needed, Kemp says: “We’re at a breaking point where everything’s changing. We are all sitting here today, and we are all talking about mental health. This wouldn’t have happened before.”
It appears we’re on the cusp of breaking the stigma around men’s mental health, but we’re not there yet. Small steps can make a big difference to improving health and wellbeing, but even baby steps can be tough when feelings of frustration or embarrassment are common and when generations of gender expectations block the way.
Essentially, this is a call to tackle tradition and empower men to talk – and make the right choices – so they can lead physically and mentally healthier lives.
Now, it’s down to us all to surge forward, using the pillars of awareness, connection, support and self-care.