41% of men have regretted “opening up” to someone about their problems according to a new global report commissioned by Movember.



Over three quarters of men (77%) think that talking is an effective way to deal with problems, and 76% believe that talking openly can have a positive impact on mental health.

Yet two in five have had a negative experience when talking to others about the issues they are dealing with and more than half of these (53%) say that this negative experience would prevent them from speaking up in future.

The three key reasons that men regretted sharing the problems with others were that the person they spoke to didn’t take them seriously, didn’t respect them and didn’t appear to care about their problem.

In cases where men have regretted being open about their problems, usually this was because the person they were talking to did not seem to respect them or care about their problem (45% of cases). Similarly, 30% of men who regretted talking say that the person they were talking to did not take them seriously.

The researchers concluded that there needs to be greater recognition that it can be more difficult than it may at first appear for men to talk openly with others, and that when encouraging men to "talk more", these complexities should be considered, including the context within which men are more willing to open up.

Finally, the researchers also highlighted the positive fact that most men do have people they can turn to during difficult times. Men do recognise the value in speaking to others about problems they might be having – even if they don’t always follow through and speak to someone.

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Read: Half of young men feel pressure to 'man up' (Movember)

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