Understanding Men's Mental Health: Breaking Down Barriers to Care

Mental health challenges don't discriminate, but the way different groups experience and seek help for these challenges can vary significantly. Recent research has highlighted a concerning pattern: men face unique obstacles when it comes to accessing mental health support, with stigma and traditional masculine norms playing crucial roles.

Why Should We Care? Men are more than twice as likely to die by suicide compared to women worldwide, yet they're less likely to seek help for mental health concerns. This paradox points to a critical public health issue that demands our attention.

The Triple Challenge Recent research reveals three main barriers that prevent men from seeking mental health support:

Masculine Identity Conflicts Many men view seeking help as conflicting with traditional masculine ideals of strength and self-reliance. This internal struggle often leads to:

• Reluctance to acknowledge emotional difficulties

• Tendency to isolate when struggling

• Fear of being seen as "weak" or "unmanly"

  Social and Cultural Barriers The environment men live and work in can significantly impact their help-seeking behavior:

• Workplace cultures that stigmatize mental health discussions

• Sports environments that prioritize "mental toughness"

• Cultural expectations about masculinity and strength

• Additional challenges for men from minority communities

  Healthcare System Challenges The mental healthcare system itself can present barriers:

• Perceived "feminization" of mental health services

• Limited male-specific mental health promotion

• Economic barriers to accessing care

• Lack of culturally competent care for diverse populations

What Works? Promising Solutions Research suggests several effective approaches to improve men's engagement with mental health services:

Male-Sensitive Approaches

• Using action-oriented, solution-focused language

• Framing help-seeking as a sign of strength

• Providing practical, goal-directed therapy options

  Community-Based Support

• Creating male-centric support networks

• Utilizing peer support programs

• Developing safe spaces for men to share experiences

  Public Health Initiatives

• Targeted mental health campaigns for men

• Use of male role models in mental health promotion

• Education about mental health in male-dominated spaces

Moving Forward Breaking down these barriers requires a multi-faceted approach. Healthcare providers, employers, and community organizations all have roles to play in creating more accessible and acceptable mental health support for men.

Professional Implications For mental health professionals, this research suggests:

• The importance of understanding masculine norms and their impact on therapy

• Need for tailored approaches that respect men's communication preferences

• Value of incorporating strength-based perspectives in treatment

• Importance of cultural competency in working with diverse male populations

The good news? When men do access appropriate mental health support, they often experience positive outcomes. The challenge lies not in treatment effectiveness, but in making services more accessible and acceptable to men who need them.

References:

1. Duthie, G., et al. (2024). The impact of media-based mental health campaigns on male help-seeking: a systematic review. Health Promotion International, 39, daae104.

2. Shepherd, G., et al. (2023). The challenges preventing men from seeking counselling or psychotherapy. Mental Health & Prevention, 31, 200287.

3. McKenzie, S.K., & Oliffe, J.L., et al. (2023). Men's Mental Illness Related Stigmas: A Scoping Review of Qualitative Literature.

These research reviews collectively analyzed over 80 studies examining men's mental health help-seeking behaviors and barriers to care, providing a comprehensive picture of current challenges and potential solutions in supporting men's mental health.

[Note: This blog post is designed to be informative while remaining accessible to a general audience. Healthcare professionals should consult the original research for detailed clinical recommendations.]

Getting past the breakers: finding and taming your emotions

By: Aaron Mitchum

Growing up in Kansas, as a skateboard kid of the nineties, the southern California surf and skate culture was the dream. So it was no surprise that I set my sites on going to college in LA. When I arrived at university I became obsessed with learning how to surf. I went twice a week for two years. My friends and I would wake up at 4:30a Tuesdays and Thursdays and drive 45 minutes out to Huntington and Newport Beach to surf before class. Alas though no matter how hard I tried I never got good at surfing. To this day I suck at surfing. It wasn’t a loss though, I did learn something. I learned about getting past the breakers. The breakers are the part where waves crash. To surf you have to get behind that part to where the swells come in before they become waves. That’s where you can catch the waves as they form. Getting past the breakers can be really hard. They push you back. They push under. You take on water. You get disoriented. You get cold, it’s exhausting and a little scary. As you are ducking and diving the crashing waves everything in your senses is saying “this is clearly not a good idea”. It’s a lot like learning to access your emotions when you have really struggled with that or like learning to tame your emotions when you’ve really struggled with that. It just feels like going against the momentum and it’s hard to intuitively feel why it’s worth it.

When I finally did get past the breakers though it all became clear. I had a totally different experience. Things got calm. My perspective changed. I could see and feel why it was worth it. Sitting out past the breakers, taking in the sun rise and being with my friends are some of my favorite memories in life (this was all just before I would try to actually ride a wave and totally eat it in front of everyone, revealing my midwest roots). Getting access to your emotions or healing emotional overwhelm is like getting past the breakers. It’s not quite as final as that, we are always in a process (there are always going to be breakers to swim past) but it is similar in that you almost have to go through it to understand what it has to offer you. Finding the energy and vibrancy of a rich emotional life will help you feel alive and authentic in new ways. Likewise, finding the strength to heal emotional overwhelm leaves you feeling empowered to take on life in courageous new ways. Both require getting past the breakers though. So if you’re in the struggle (and the struggle is real make no mistake) know you are not alone and take hope, there is another side.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF EMOTIONAL AFFAIR

By: Aaron Mitchum

Having split off emotions and needs is like having an affair. Your vulnerable emotions and their needs are kept out of your regular life. You go on with your day, your friends, spouse, kids, job, etc. without your vulnerable emotions and needs being involved. In fact, the people close to you don’t even know about your vulnerable feelings. Those feeling are kept in exile, in hiding. They are not to be acknowledged. That said, you do visit your feelings...in secret. Just like an affair you meet them at the "hotel" for a rendezvous. The "hotel" in this situation are habits like: pornography, alcohol, drugs, eating, intensities like extreme sports or exciting adventures, shopping, watching sports, etc. In those spaces you can feel the permission to have emotions you can’t usually. These places help you feel things like: relaxed, loved, seen, alive, wanted, excited, confident, sexual, soothed, etc.

Side Bar: You might notice that a lot of those things can become addicting. In psychology addiction is often understood as an attachment disorder. Meaning, we have come to use these things to meet attachment type of needs (i.e. seen, soothed, safe, secure, etc.) instead of seeking those things through relationships (i.e. opening up to those we’re close with or seeking a hug, etc.) or self help (e.g. mindfulness meditation, yoga, massage, etc.). We establish these patterns out of stressful times (usually when we are young) in which don’t have the help we need. Eventually these things become patterns and happen automatically. In other words, without much thought or awareness we grab that next beer not realizing that we are doing that because we are hungry to feel loved in that moment.

Back to our metaphor…we may meet our feelings in the hotel and get a fix but soon it’s back to our regular lives (perhaps with some guilt in the background for behaving in a way, once again, we don’t really want to). And as long as those emotions don’t show up at our door where our friends and family live too (cause that’ll be shocking and painfully messy we fear) we continue to maintain our split lives: a main self that is non vulnerable and doesn’t trouble others with our messy needs (sure we can’t quite connect deeply with others but we compensate with just doing more) and our secret selves that meet with our “messy” emotions and needs on the side.

#emotions #emotionalintelligence #falseself #integrated #wholeself#coaching #selfhelp #vulnerability