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Men's mental health improving in Dane County, but more work needs to be done
By Jaylon Banks,
3 days ago
MADISON, Wis. - Over the past several years, the discussion around men's mental health has improved, but there is still work to be done not just in Dane County but across the state.
June is Men's Mental Health Month, a time dedicated to breaking the stigma around the issues. Stereotypes and stigmas surrounding men's mental health have plagued men for years.
"These stereotypical expectations of this tough male persona and that we can't struggle or we have to be strong. And I think that inevitably sets people up for failure when they are struggling," said Peter Devries, a physiatrist for Rogers Behavorial Health.
As for the state of Wisconsin, more men have been seeking mental health care in recent years. Dane County followed that trend as well.
"I think that men have become more open to acknowledgment, especially acknowledgment in community," said therapist Alwyn Foster.
However, there is still work to be done. According to a study by Public Health Madison and Dane County, non-Hispanic white men are more likely than other races and ethnicities to die by firearm suicide. Some contributing factors include being less likely to seek mental health care, and more likely to isolate themselves.
Alwyn Foster says community is a way to combat that.
"It's vital. It's indispensable. Every time it's the relationship that causes the healing. So essentially what that means is if there's no relationship, either you delay your healing or it doesn't happen," said Foster.
For more information on mental health services in the Madison region, you can access that from the following links:
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The outward effects of mental illness can often be dismissed as a sign of weakness or personal failure. For men, this type of social stereotyping can be especially hard to escape—being told to “man up” is a common refrain that can be reductive and stigmatizing.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics , men are nearly four times more likely to die by suicide than women. This is true across all races, with middle-aged white men in the lead. These alarming statistics point to a larger mental health crisis for men struggling with depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts.
According to the American Psychological Association, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 6 million men in the U.S. struggle with depression—but the actual figure may be much larger than that. A true picture of mental health in America is hard to determine as men are significantly less likely than women to ask for help or seek treatment . Moreover, in addition to a recent dearth of mental health counselors, depression in men can often be overlooked or misdiagnosed by medical professionals since symptoms can differ from women's—notably more angry and aggressive tendencies.
What keeps men from seeking mental health support has deep roots in both traditional gender roles and societal attitudes about masculinity. Ro consulted studies from scientific and medical journals to identify six common barriers men face when seeking support for mental health challenges.
Generally, men and women experience mental health disorders differently. According to research first published in the American Journal of Men’s Health , women are more likely to experience internalized symptoms, like depression and anxiety, while men tend to experience more externalized symptoms, like aggression and violent outbursts, substance abuse and addiction, antisocial or oppositional defiant disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
This tendency toward more aggressive symptoms has led men and medical professionals alike to either not recognize or discount these behaviors as symptoms of mental illness. Several recent studies, however, have suggested that the traditionally “masculine” symptoms of addiction and aggression actually share the same underlying causes as traditionally “feminine” depression and anxiety.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, men are more likely than women to misuse illicit drugs, including illegal and prescription drugs. They’re also more likely to need emergency room care after illicit drug use—and more likely to experience overdose deaths.
Studies indicate men are more likely than women to self-medicate to cope with their mental health troubles. Moreover, men were found to self-medicate much more than women with alcohol and drugs to control symptoms of PTSD , which manifests more in men generally. A recent Pew Research Center report found that drug overdose death rates strike Black men on a disproportionate scale, which is in line with findings showing that Black men are not only less likely to receive necessary treatment, but also experience higher levels of stress and psychological distress compared to other non-minority populations due to cultural and racial systemic barriers.
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