Men’s Health — Silent Crisis

Let’s Not Wait Until November To Movember

The Discussion On The Neglected Disease Of Men Should Go On.

Movember is all about men’s health but sadly, we have the habit to wait a year to speak about it, as we think November is Movember. What if we Movember today or every day until the neglected issue gets the much-needed attention. Yes, It’s about men’s mental health.

I would like to kick off the day with anorexia nervosa (AN). Besides depression and anxiety disorder, it is one of the most commonly known mental illness, an eating disorder. In fact, it is so well known, that every time a person speaks of an eating disorder, you can be almost sure it is AN (even if it’s not the most common eating disorder). There is so much stereotype attached to it, literally, no-one thinks a man can have it.

It is crystal clear, that women are more affected by AN (and generally eating disorder) than men. In fact, the female to male ratio in developed countries is as high as 10-20:1. This ratio, however, doesn’t apply to certain professions like wrestlers, models, and athletes. The situation is estimated to be much harsher for gay and bisexual men (they, however, have more risk for bulimia than anorexia).

Everything that a man with AN should go through, only for it to be seen as a possible issue, is neither expressable nor “pen-able”. What about all those “anorexia in a man, i don’t believe it?” with the big-staring-stunned eyes or “it’s not hard, just eat” suggestions?

Learn more about anorexia nervosa here in a poem.

How unfortunate, my poem also supports that stigma with the picture. The poem, however, is a statement of other major issues, related to the eating disorder. Non Wels has painted his strenuous journey with AN beautifully in his article.

Another common mental condition with even more stigma is perinatal (around child-birth) depression. Yes, perinatal depression in the new dads. One in ten new dads is estimated to be affected by perinatal depression (either antenatal or postnatal). To let new dads and moms experience one of the best moments of their life together, screening for both moms and dads need to be the new standard.

Learn more about postnatal depression in dads from this journey of Darren Horne.

And about postnatal depression in new moms from one of many famous articles by Laura Fox.

This stigma is literally killing men. It, however, doesn’t mean, we men are not unresponsible of what’s happening. We should stop thinking of mental illness as a weakness, stop downplaying our symptoms, stop solving our problems with drugs and alcohol, and find our way out of the “toxic masculinity”.

We should stop feeling embarrassed and stop thinking, our illness is a burden to others. We should admit, we need support and stop playing hide and seek. This hide and seek can eventually destroy us, our families and our careers.

Our reluctance to talk should, however, be taken seriously and custom-man-tailored help-systems should be developed that meet men’s unique needs as gender blind mental health service probably won’t help us.

Mental disorders don’t discriminate. Anyone of any gender, any age, any race, or any class can get mental illness. The “no-discrimination” policy should however also apply to the support system.