Despite being arguable, it is almost a well-known fact that mental health takes on a rather specifically different guise and definition when it comes to males.
By no means is this a display of any form of gender bias, however, it is an argument that has the potential to ‘hold water’.
We live in a society that does not hesitate to label people, delegate roles and define what is and what is not and this is quite heavily present in the arena of males, their mental health as well as the issues that relate to their mental health.
What this does is, increase expectation and add figurative weight onto the already heavily-laden male, who has to navigate the treacherous paths of his own life, while also ensuring that he keeps in line with what those around him expect.
Unfortunately, this is where we seem to be losing more and more of our brothers; the realisation that one cannot keep up with these ‘set’ standards and the resulting effect that has on their psyche, is usually a bit too much to handle for many.
The thing is, the male was psychologically designed to be appear robust but operate as equally sensitive and fragile, which leads to the implication that under the right amount of pressure, discomfort and mental duress, it is easy for crippling thoughts and feelings of self-doubt to creep in.
As many of us continue to witness depression continue to ravage through the minds and eventually claiming the lives of both young and old males, it portrays quite the scary sight, simply because of our failure to identify and detect our brothers who need support in psycho-emotional form.
Not only that, we continue to fail in our duties as non-judgemental ‘ear-pieces’, instead we pose as the opposite.
Undeniably, mental health being such an intrinsic and somewhat individualistic phenomenon makes it that extra bit more difficult to observe and in the specific case of males, the fact that we rarely opt to share our deepest insecurities frequently (enough) does a fair bit in restricting a clear pathway to getting assistance, even when we need some.
The numbers of male suicides over the last year shook my core at first glance, only for my core to be shattered by the realisation that these were men who ‘voluntarily decided’ to end their lives because that is the only option they saw viable.
That alone should explain the range and depth of helplessness that many males experience due to different reasons; unemployment feeding into the financial inability to provide, crises in marriage (and relationships), peer comparisons which create a whole gallery of self-doubt and general feelings of inadequacy and under-achievement; among many other things.
Regardless of how complex the nature of the male psyche may appear to be, they too need an ear, psycho-emotional support and sometimes, a bit of regular reassurance goes a long way in re-stabilising our mental frames on a day-to-day basis.
Professional assistance also, remains an arena that many men seem to avoid even though it has proven quite effective in challenging any negative narratives that may have wrongly exist in the mind.
With that, please do check on each other, often.
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