How To Improve Support For Men’s Mental Health

Self-stimulation or sex with a sex doll helps men relax as climaxing releases endorphins – feel-good hormones – in the brain. Aside from this, it has other health benefits. So, many men do it, and there’s nothing wrong in doing so.

However, when it becomes an obsession, it could lead to undesired problems. But what can cause someone to masturbate excessively? Extreme loneliness, perhaps.

Studies suggest that men are more susceptible to feeling lonely than women. Data collected through research suggest that more than 6 million men experience symptoms of depression each year. Furthermore, over 3 million experience anxiety disorder. But those statistics are for men in the US alone. Since several surveys from around the world also say the same, we can expect those numbers to be ten folds higher. With the ongoing pandemic, cases could be even more than what is expected.

However, while men are more likely to get depressed, they are less likely to seek help. The National Health Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that men rarely receive mental health support.

Men would keep their problems to themselves. They try to alleviate loneliness in their own ways – masturbation, alcoholism, or substance abuse. But the world is unforgiving, especially to people who feel isolated. There’s only so much they can take. And since they refuse to open up, they look for another way out.

Unfortunately, that “other way out” is ending their own lives. In 2018, World Health Organization (WHO) reported that three times as many men as women die by suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention attests to this. It says that in the same year of WHO’s report, “men died by suicide 3.56 times more often than women. 

So why is this happening? Why are men particularly reluctant to share their mental health problems? Many studies have found the answer and even offered solutions.

Stigmatization

If not never, stigmatization rarely produces positive results. When speaking about men’s mental health, it is referred to as the biggest hurdle.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, published a study about this in Canadian Family Physician. The report says that the prescriptive, ages-old ideas about gender are part of why men develop mental health issues. On top of that, they are the primary cause of why men don’t like seeking professional help.

These beliefs are the roots of the often-heard phrase, “Man up!” which does more damage than good. People expect every man to be strong, capable, and dependable. Thus, they are discouraged from showing weakness. 

As it happens, showing emotional vulnerability is seen as showing weakness. If a man does this, he risks being labeled girly, gay, or a crybaby. For straight men, those words are demeaning. Nothing is wrong with being gay. But straight men would not want to be called something they are not. It can also ruin their chance of finding a partner, so the more reason to avoid it. Else, they could grow old with a sex doll as a partner.

The sad thing is even men hold these stigmatizing beliefs about mental health issues in men. This was confirmed by another study done in Canada. On the survey, male respondents – who never experienced depression or having suicidal thoughts – admitted that they believe depressed men are dangerous. Furthermore, they believe depressed men “can snap out of it if they want to.”

Then, in line with the studies mentioned above, male respondents who experience depression admit it feels embarrassing to seek formal treatment. Medical News Today also reports that men would not open up about mental health even to their peers.

For People Of Color

Life has always been more difficult for people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. So, it is not surprising to hear that they face additional challenges concerning their mental health.

Former CEO of the American Psychological Association, Prof. Norman Bruce Anderson, reports on this. He says that Latino and black men are at a higher risk of being murdered than white men in the US. Likewise, he notes that black men are more likely to be imprisoned. Prof. Anderson also points out that American Indian men are the ones most likely to attempt suicide.

Dr. Octavio Martinez Jr. of Hogg Foundation of Mental health that this is a “double whammy.” He says that racism combined with the stigmatization of help-seeking behavior pushes men closer to committing suicide. It could also manifest in substance abuse, violence, and aggression. Those things would lead to more stigma.

To End The Silent Epidemic

Men keeping their mental health problems to themselves hurts them more. Thus, their problems only get worse. This “silent epidemic” is a public health concern that needs attention.

Studies argue that the first step to succeeding in this fight is enhancing education about mental health. Researchers believe it is important to disrupt how men traditionally think of depression and suicide. It could be done by breaking the stigma that surrounds these topics.

Enhancing education about mental help also helps enlighten people. Some of those who experience anxiety and depression weren’t aware of what was happening with them. And they are embarrassed for not knowing, so they just keep silent about it. “If I had been more educated about mental health, my symptoms would not have scared me as much,” says a contributor to MNT. “I would have been more open about talking about it,” the contributor adds.

Another key to solving this problem is to make people realize that seeking mental support does not equate to showing weakness. Instead, people should view it as a way to maintain one aspect of health. To paint a picture, men turn to fitness trainers to help keep their bodies in shape. Therapists should be viewed as the trainers’ equivalent for mental health.

Physical, mental, emotional, social, and sexual health – all of these are important. Taking steps to ensure your healthiness in every aspect is never a weakness. It is a strength. With that said, men who experience a deep sense of loneliness are encouraged to speak about it. Seek professional treatment if you need to.