STEVE

Why is men's mental health often overlooked?

I don't think mental men's mental health isn't ignored because people don't care.

It's a mixture of culture, social expectations, systems, and our own biology interacting over the years.

And understanding why this is helps remove a shame and shows why change takes time, it's not going to happen instantly or overnight.

And traditional masculinity discourages vulnerability.

From childhood, as men as and as boys, we hear messages like, you know, man up, don't cry, be strong, you know, handle yourself.

And this has become what's called emotional conditioning, which has happened over time.

And it's not just about social pressure.

Um, and this has made men become restrictive emotionally, okay, or what's become called restrictive emotionality, where men suppress or learn to suppress emotions except anger.

Um and why is this in men?

It's because men don't recognize emotional distress.

We feel weak asking for help, um, and we feel more comfortable trying to solve problems alone.

Um, and the result of this means that mental health struggles become invisible.

And this often you know uh becomes the point that men are seeking help far less often.

Um because of this um we seek when we help or when we seek help, men feel like they're a failure.

Um, and therapy is seen as not for me, I'm a man.

Okay, or not for men, and emotional language feels very unfamiliar for men, and that's why um it's seen that fewer men are seeking help.

Men's mental health has been overlooked because of the feedback loop which we get.

As boys we learn not to express vulnerability, men seek helpless, services are seeing fewer men, and male distress looks different, and society assumes men are coping, um, and men reach crisis later on in life, and with mental health services, um, it hasn't historically been designed for men.

Traditional therapy models were based upon women women seeking help earlier, women being more comfortable with talk therapy.

Um, so the culture with mental health it became highly verbal, it was emotional or motion-focused early on, and was insight-driven, where men mainly are goal-focused or seek goal-focused therapy, the practical strategies we're looking for, and action and reflection are combined.

Um, and the services which are provided, uh, remember mental health services which are provided are slowly adapting, um, but there is still a mix mismatch which is exists today in the world of therapy.