Matthew Spartz
Mental illnesses are often seen throughout all ages and genders but there is one gender that is overlooked on a daily basis. In the study “Mental health treatment or counseling among U.S. men 2002-2023” published by Peetri Vankar states that: “around 17% of men in the United States received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year.”
Men often feel as if they are expected to live up to this traditional standard that they can’t open up and show emotion because they will be seen as ‘weak’ or ‘vulnerable’. The terrifying truth is that suicide and deaths by alcohol usage are ranked highest for men. In the article “Males and Mental Health Stigma” published by Benita Chatmon says, “men (79% of 38,364) die by suicide at a rate of four times higher than women”.
Men are seen more of a statistic instead, men’s lives are more than just a statistic, but rather actual people that have feelings and matter to society so they can feel appreciated for the things they contribute to society.
Antonio Aguilera, senior at Harlem High School, shares about his journey and his advice about men’s mental health. Aguilera has gone through many challenges throughout his lifetime and among many men feels forced into the idea that men need to remain closed off from others.
This feeling is a struggle that pushes men at a young age and will follow them even past just their youth. He has gone through his fair share of ups and downs within mental health, and one thing he states is that “therapy is severely underlooked and it’s something that is super important in my opinion and I think therapy should also always come before medicine.”
Aguilera also states that “a lot of times men almost feel underappreciated” men tend to feel like they need to prove themselves worthy of being appreciated rather than being appreciated for what they’re capable of doing.
Gabriel Gonzalez, sophomore at Harlem High School, along with many, Gonzalez thinks men’s mental health is overlooked and he alongside most men has gone through the belief that real men don’t have emotions being pushed onto him causing him to be closed up and bottle everything inside. During an interview Gonzalez discusses how the recent struggle of immigration affects his mental state as he fears the worst for him and his family heading into the future.
When he was younger he fell into a deep depression lasting about three months due to the pressure of keep everything bottled up inside. Gonzalez states that when people say that men can’t show emotion “it’s basically telling someone they’re a robot, no feelings is like a robot.” Gonzalez shares that at first he would deal with it by acting happy to hide it from everyone when deep down he feels empty.
He notes that depression comes in different ways and that we’re blind to the people that may actually be depressed and states that “people may think that it looks like they’re always wearing a hoodie and sad but in reality real depression is when people are acting happy” which he explained earlier where he would act happy so people didn’t know he was depressed.
Personally I have gone though many struggles on my own and I didn’t feel like I could open up to anyone causing me to have thoughts of suicide and at a younger age often times having struggles with anger issues. I closed myself off from the world for most of my life which has led me to struggle with communicating my thoughts and opinions to people now.
Suicide is a repeating thought that I struggle with and I tend to just brush it under the rug because I don’t feel like I can open up and be vulnerable.
My anger issues consisted of yelling and just breaking things because I didn’t know how else to deal with my emotions, and that’s what I thought was okay because I grew up around it for such a long time in my life. For a short time around the age of 3-4 it was just me and my mom trying to make it day by day. We were isolated because of it just being me and her. Without my mom being one of my only supporters that will always be there for me whenever I wouldn’t be here today.
On November 24th, 2020 in the article by Bupa UK, “Talking About Men’s Mental Health” wanted to bring attention to how long men can deal with mental illness within their life. It states that “suicide is the most common cause of death for men under the age of 50” this could be built off from the stereotype that has been formed around men having to be closed up to be seen as ‘strong’ in today’s society.
A news outlet called National Institutes of Health stated in the article “Males and Mental Health Stigma” that “there is a disproportionate difference between the number of males experiencing mental health disorders and those seeking treatment.” Males tend to not open up causing them to bottle everything and just stay silent which also builds up to the fact that “mental health, particularly among men, has gained momentum in becoming the “other” silent killer” stated by National Institutes of Health.
Mental health specifically among men has been said to be more noticed over time but it’s quite the opposite, it has been pushed more and more under the rug over the years instead of bringing it to the world’s attention.