Understanding men’s mental health issues

Mental health is one of the major health issues for men nowadays. One of the best ways to get a conversation stated about a difficult subject is to open it up with a community awareness campaign.

Some of the best community awareness has been achieved through a week where the media and specialists have engaged with the wider community to highlight a particular issue. This past week was one of them, ‘Men’s Health Week. Men’s health, like every group of people’s is complex and, the past few years, a great deal has been learned and put into the public arena.

There are so many things about mens’s mental health that we are learning and making better known through events like Men’s Health Week and through health and mental health awareness organisations.

The past week was a great time to encourage a better under understanding of one those things, the stigma surrounding mental health problems.

Statistics have never been good when it comes to men’s mental health. Even now, with stigma surrounding it is lessening, little more than 10 per cent of young men seek professional help.

Men, particularly younger men keep quiet if they have depression, anxiety or other issues. One of the most valuable supports they can have is being allowed know it’s OK to talk about it.