What can WE do to help guys struggling with mental health?

[ILikePlants]

Seeing as we're all adults here and we can help each other out with social issues, men are 4x more likely to take their own life due to mental illnesses so how do we fix that.

I dont want to hear left this right that this isn't a political issue, its a problem that effects everyone that needs to be addressed

Just to. be clear, problem solving not blaming, political bs gets removed

[ChrisMaster69]

One of the biggest problems with guys specifically and mental health, accept they have an issue and then have them talk about.

those two items are the hardest bits with men and mental health.

Some areas are very similar to girls, such as abuse, rape, bullying, body shaming, sexuality etc, the big however is that for guys there is a larger social stigma to add in to the mix, mainly other guys.

where if a girl has been raped, her girl friends with support her and may even have had close calls etc.

for guys even telling another guy they were abused or raped, is incredibly hard, mates may shun them, even take piss or comment negatively.

There is more but, it would fill a book.

Talking about things and knowing others have been through similar helps more than people realise.

[ChrisMaster69]

@ilikeplants that is a really good question by the way, you could say mental health has been something talked about a fair bit on here with various people

[Kaneki05]

Personally i think england is very accepting when it comes to mental health problems especially depression. And many people i know and knew talk about it very openly and are government does push it enough. So in reality the only barrier here is, some waiting lists can be a bit long and men don't actively choose to help themselves even tho the system is there for sure.
I have no clue about other countries.

[Cicero79]

Mental health changes through out a person's life.

Life events can cause depression.

Chemical imbalances in the brain are very common.

Things like Bipolar Disorder and

Schizophrenia can manifest itself around 20.

Drug abuse can cause Psychosis.

My point is a person and his family and friends need to be aware of changes in the person and suggest certain actions if necessary.

Just remember. No one wants to admit he may have a mental health issue or seek help.

[Anonymous]

It's almost impossible because most people aren't willing to try to understand the real cause.

You can't speak about this without speaking about political bs, because that's really the problem.

I say this as a man who was once standing on the ledge of a tall building and does not suffer with bad mental health at all anymore.

[ILikePlants]

Yes you can

[Opinion Owner]

And that right there is why it's impossible.

[ILikePlants]

How I mean by politics is "its trumps fault I'm depressed" if that's what you mean

[Opinion Owner]

Ah, okay. No the politics which affect this are really about gender politics, which not only affect society's expectations of men but also the field of psychology. As a result even mental health professionals are way off, in fact I'd say that they do more harm than good. If they understood men and were actually good at what they do we wouldn't see the male suicide rate rise, and it continues to rise.

[ILikePlants]

So what's the solution then

[Opinion Owner]

Imagine speaking about lung cancer rates, and thinking that the solution is to come up with better ways to treat lung cancer, while ignoring the role of smoking which is the biggest cause. Imagine that everybody is smoking 20 a day, and the "experts" are pretending that smoking has nothing to do with it, and in fact they think that people should smoke 40 a day instead.

That's what's happening with men's mental health. They speak about men needing help and not getting it because they can't cry or something, but what is it that brings them to the point where they need help and feel like crying? What is it that's getting them down? The "experts" claim that it's not being allowed to cry, but that's not the cause of depression. The cause is something else.

The main cause is the emasculation of modern men. Their solution is more of that, making things worse, while blaming masculinity.

[DrunkenMaster]

We have to get to the root cause of the person's mental illness. This is the difficult part becuase most people don't like opening up or getting help. I personally don't think that every suicide was a result of mental illness. There are experiences in life that can push someone over the edge.

[OddBeMe]

No you’re correct statistically. And we’re violent. But I blame masculinity. Must watch: The Mask You Live In.

[ILikePlants]

What?

[OddBeMe]

The movie is a documentary. I refer it because the your question: what can we do to help guys mental health- is to abandon ancient ideas like masculinity.

[Nik1hil]

Your intension are good...
But it's natural selection! .. Girls don't care about guys mental state..
And guys with weak mental state are doomed..

[Feelicks]

I'd say that a good start is just being baseline respectful and friendly with men even if you aren't gaining anything from them.

It's often micro aggressions and discourteous treatment that worsen depression.

[jasco]

Honestly majority wise all we can do is tell them to go to a doctor, Indiviually however people can help there male friends by simply being a listener, giving a hug, not much you can do other than that. Some guys simply don't wanna be bothered

[BeccaG18]

We can't fix it, but we can work towards normalizing the discussion of men's mental health and the stigma surrounded it. We're going in the right direction.

[chukio]

The best thing to do is to talk to them. But always set boundaries at the same time. All there is to it really

[Dchrls78104]

A good start would be actually listening to the men and not being quick to judge, write off, or ridicule.

[moviedude714]

Yeah I think the suicide rate has historically been male-dominated for many decades or even longer than that

[anylolone]

Guys heal better by doing stuff, let them do stuff and don't try to control them.

[Anonymous]

Normalize seeking professional help

[Jack9949]

Thanks for acknowledging that. 😊

[In_Trance]

Unless you're a trained professional, nothing