Mental Health and Men

Men and women are not as different from each other as we are encouraged to think. Especially when it comes to the brain. Though men may be larger, hotter, and quicker to burn out, the basic blueprint for their brains is the same. However, the way they are treated in society, the expectations and demands made on them, may be widely different. The false idea persists that mental problems are a weakness, and the self-image of a man is still based largely on an antipathy to having or admitting any weakness. Men must be strong, which means men cannot be weak, which often translates to men must ignore their mental health, and forge on regardless. In the modern world, where the differences of opportunities available and accessible to both sexes is an ever shrinking gap, men may be just as likely to suffer mental health problems as women, but they are still more likely to ignore them.

There are a wide variety of mental problems that are common in the twenty first century world, and the biggest of them is stress. Stress accumulates every second of every day, and affects our bodies in a physical way. It makes us anxious or unhappy, it can lead to loss of appetite or sleep, deteriorating health, an increase in blood pressure and possibly eventual hypertension. Stress accumulates while we go about the business of daily life, at our jobs, on the streets, in our interactions with the world, and even at home. The demanding pace of the modern world, the speed at which life must be lived and work done, all contribute to the accumulation of stress. Since men are traditionally expected to be stoic and less self indulgent, they are even more likely to suffer from the ill effects of accumulated stress. Physical activity, exercise or playing a sport, can often be the most effective ways to banish stress. Both also have the additional benefit of leading to interaction with others engaged in the same activity, and friendly human interaction or touching is known to be an effective stress buster.

Another mental demon that is common today is depression. Depression can sneak up on you, catching you unawares, and can lead to a slow and gradual slide into an unhealthy frame of mind and lifestyle. Depression can lead to a slowing down of your metabolic system, as well as suppressing your immune system. This can leave you vulnerable to fatigue, loss of appetite, the inability to digest the food you eat, which may demonstrate itself as a tendency to gain weight. You may suffer from insomnia or unrestful sleep. If your body does not get the rest it needs, it will wake up sluggish and still fatigued, and you may find yourself craving more sleep, even when you've slept for a full eight hours or more. Depression can leave your system crippled and foundering without any discernible causes, and the best you can do is try to treat the physical symptoms as they manifest.

Substance abuse is one of the most common mental health problems for both genders. Men are just as likely as women to fall prey to some sort of dependency, if not more. Since the pressure to perform well and appear strong is much harsher on men, they may be more likely to take the aid of alcohol, cigarettes or some other substance. Though men are no different than women when it comes to most mental issues, they are much less likely to seek help. There are also more barriers to seeking aid through social interaction, as women are likely to do. Women may seek the support of their peer circle, or find a ready ear for their problems and woes in a friend. Men are less likely to do so with their friends. There is also much less research and data available from studies that address the issues of mental health for men than there is for women.

Men are not encourage by society to vent, and therefore may suffer in silence unless they happen to find some other outlet than verbalization of their woes that lets them vent. However, suffering in silence can lead to them acting out in violent ways. This violence may be self directed or be focused on others, leading to a slew of behavior which is then understood as criminal. It is imperative before things are driven to such a strait, that an atmosphere be fostered that makes it easier for men to care for their mental health and worry about it. These common problems with possible dire consequences can be treated, but before they can be treated, they must be noticed and brought out into the open. The dawn of the twenty first century promises a new world of gender equality, and it is now men who must catch up to the freedoms that women enjoy.


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