Men 's mental health and the importance of reaching out
Earlier this year, the 14- 20 June was raised as Men 's health week. Now, the Mental Health Foundation in the UK is campaigning for November to be officially recognised as Men 's Mental Health Month, running simultaneously with the 'Movember ' campaign that runs every year, writes Yung Lau.
In England and Wales, men account for three times more suicides as women. More concerningly, the rates are increasing, particularly within the construction industry. The Centre for Mental Health has estimated that the wider economic cost of mental illness in England is £105.2 billion each year, while Forbes estimates specific work related stress and burnout to cost $190 billion every year.
It is often said that societal expectations, and the ways we expect individuals to behave, make it much harder to discuss or seek help when experiencing difficulties. For example, men are stereotypically assumed to be strong, in control, and not allowed to cry. Due to the pressure of these stereotypes, many men use different forms of escapism to hide their problems, sometimes through difficult or harmful means.
“It 's okay to not be okay. ”
Several years ago, when a colleague committed suicide, I ended up using holidays, and using my job as escapism - avoiding my university work. A year later, after an international incident, I found myself not being able to think properly. I couldn 't concentrate in lectures, and I felt numb. I ended up standing in front of my supervisor 's office for several hours before they returned.
After some consoling sessions, I discussed that I felt like I couldn 't talk to anyone, which was a factor causing me to spiral into a poor state of mental health.
This experience, among seeing friends and colleagues experience either poor mental health or suicide, lead me to becoming a Positive Mental Health Champion at work (Jacobs UK Ltd). I can now start recognising the signs when my mental health is faltering, and I feel privileged I have a support network that I can talk to inside work and outside work.
It took a lot for me to ask for help, and we need to do more to help each other, encourage people to communicate their feelings and subsequently improve the mental health of our community.
Businesses could be investing more into training opportunities and empowering their employees and, as individuals, we could be open to learning about mental health, knowing where to go for help and understanding the signs in others. For example, Jacobs sponsors a free to use application called One Million Lives that allows anyone to check in with themselves and understand their own mental health better.
Reaching out to someone who 's behaviour has changed, with no judgement, could be the first step saving someone 's life. Letting that family, friend or colleague know that you 're there to listen.
Most importantly, it can be hard looking out for others, but it can be even harder to see the signs in ourselves. Remember to take care of yourself.
Yung Lau is a strategic consultant at Jacobs, Future Faces executive committee member and mental health champion.