If the Movember allows us to raise awareness of illnesses that specifically affect men, it is also an opportunity to talk about an area that we too often associate with women: that of mental health. A subject that is invisible among men, despite catastrophic figures.
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(ON VIDEO) Depression, symptoms and treatment? Depression is an increasingly common illness, which should not be…
Could men’s mental health be a public health issue? In 2016, a team of Canadian researchers drew the doorbelldoorbell alarm by pointing out the dramatic figures put forward by other studies: in Canada, men consult fewer psychologists and psychiatrists than women, they are diagnosed with half as much depression, but they commit suicide four times more! A phenomenon which does not spare France: the latest study by the National Suicide Observatory counted “11,210 deaths by suicide, 75% of which concern men” !
Different warning signs of depression in men and women
One of the main factors that can explain this situation is the lack of awareness of depression in men, which often does not manifest itself in the same way as in women. Thus, the first signs of male depression often involve “irritability, anger, hostile, aggressive, abusive behavior, substance abuse, and escape behavior (e.g., excessive work involvement)”detail researchers in a study published in 2011 in the Can Fam Physician. They also seem to adopt more risky behaviors, including in particular the use ofalcoholalcohol and other drugs… A set of symptoms that often masks more classic signs: sadness, unexplained crying, feelings of guilt and changes in appetite.
Additionally, men tend not to verbalize their discomfort in the same way as women. Instead of talking about sadness or despondency, they generally prefer to talk about “stress” or “a slump”.
Fewer diagnoses: the fault of gender stereotypes!
These differences and the lower number of men consulting for mental health issues therefore lead to non-diagnosticsdiagnostics with serious consequences. Unsurprisingly, the explanations are to be found in gender standards, which glorify masculinity obeying very specific rules: professional success, the ability to provide for one’s family, self-control, etc. Calls for help are therefore often seen as signs of weakness and vulnerability… reserved for women! In 2011, a study published in Sociology of Health & Illness was also categorical: “Our results clearly confirm the macro-links between discourses on help-seeking by men affected by depression and discourses on masculinity. »
“The ideal is set so high that it is impossible to achieve, denounce the scientists in the 2016 study also published in the columns of Can Fam Physician. What follows is a feeling of failure, a failure to win the competition against other men and a failure to meet the needs of their family. »
Act to change the trend
It is therefore a question of rethinking the relationship of society and the medical profession to depression, still considered today as a “female” illness. For the authors, several levers must be raised:
- eliminate the stigma around the subject by reminding men that mental health affects everyone, and that everyone can go through a difficult time;
- change men’s views about health services: asking for help, whatever the form, should not be seen as forbidden. On the contrary, the approach must be valued as “a mark of strength, of taking control of their situation to restore order in their lives”;
- adapt care structures so that men feel more concerned – even if they deny themselves being aimed primarily at women;
- prevent, in particular by combating loneliness among the elderly: retired men commit suicide seven times more than retired women!
So many solutions to save lives, while making a stand nosenose to sexist clichés with disastrous consequences for both men and women.
