perceivedmasculinity-blog

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Hey guys! In order to put this all into perspective for you, I decided to go and interview a man about perceived masculinity, and what his opinions/experiences were. Really great and insightful! Big thank you to Richard for letting me film him.  

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Cultural Scenario.

You are a school counselor at a middle school, and you are meeting with two families regarding a fight that broke out between two boys. They have bruises, and many verbal threats were made between the boys. When the parents come in, one parent is extremely apologetic, while the other one says the following: “Boys will be boys, this is what they are supposed to do. I do not see what the big deal is.” What do you do?

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“The aim of this study was to investigate how masculine norms impact men’s help-seeking as well as care givers’ behaviors and willingness to support men in need of psychological help or perceived to be at risk of suicide.”

Really great research into how men seek help in regards to their mental health. It gives an in-depth view of how sociocultural contexts of masculinity affect men’s health, and when they are more or less likely to seek help. 

Keohane & Richardson. (2018).  Negotiating Gender Norms to Support Men in Psychological Distress. American Journal of Men’s Health. 

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Men can have eating disorders too!

New Post has been published on Men and Mental Health

New Post has been published on http://www.menandmentalhealth.com/binge-eating-disorder-in-men/

Binge Eating Disorder in Men.

Although anorexia and bulimia get their rightful share of press attention, a more common, and no less serious eating disorder often goes unreported.  Binge eating disorder is characterised by repeated bouts of compulsive eating, often for hours at a time.  Such eating usually occurs in private, and often at night.  Sufferers report that they feel no sense of control over their eating, and it often distresses them either at the time of the binge or quickly after.  A large proportion of sufferers are men

We are all familiar with using food to regulate our mood.  Eating chocolate, cakes and other treats, are used by people to lift their mood, and help them get through the day.  In binge eating disorder, however, the man eats excessively to cope with distressing emotion.  Unfortunately the binging itself often gives way to feelings of guilt, disgust and despair.  In fact there is a close link between binge eating and depression, with sufferers often being currently depressed or having reported being depressed in the past.  The age of onset is similar to other eating disorders, late adolescence and early adulthood.  Sometimes binging starts after an aggressive period of weight loss.

Unlike anorexia or bulimia, there is usually no attempt by the sufferer to purge the food by vomiting, laxatives or exercise.  As a result the most obvious physical consequence of binge eating disorder is excessive weight gain, which in turn causes further health problems and undermines self esteem.

There is a lot that can be done to help people with binge eating disorder.  Keeping a food diary often helps to limit episodes of binging, as does exercise, which naturally helps to moderate food intake.  There are also strategys to help sufferers regulate their emotions in a more sustainable way.  Ultimately, however, issues of low self esteem and depression need to be worked through before many sufferers can say they have beaten the disorder.

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There are strong connections in previous research between social support and improved mental health. While this connection may be previously known, what is unknown is how men utilize social support, and what affects these have on men. 

McKenzie, Collings, Jenkins & River. (2018)  Masculinity, Social Connectedness, and Mental Health: Men’s Diverse Patterns of Practice. American Journal of Men’s Health. 

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This is a recurring theme I am seeing within the research, and in speaking to other men about mental health issues. They seem to think that talking about their issues will make them less than, and that is just not true. What is more disturbing, is that when asked why these men think in such a way, the answer is usually that they learned through their fathers, or peers. Let me be frank: mental health issues do not discriminate against race, ethnicity, gender, SES, or any other demographic you can think of. Sure, there are predispositions to it, and some demographics may be more likely to develop it than others, but depression, anxiety, eating disorders, personality, and other mental health disorders can occur in anyone.

Fact: Depression affects about 18 million adults (about 1 in 10) in any given year. 

Fact: Over 41,000 people die each year due to suicide according to the CDC. Homicide only covers less than 16,000 each year.

Fact: MEN ARE FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE OF SUICIDE FROM DEPRESSION.

** Statistics taken from Hope for Depression Research Foundation. https://www.hopefordepression.org/depression-facts/

TALK ABOUT IT!!!

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Just, merry! 

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Hey guys! Jessica here. This video explains the message of what perceived masculinity and mental health is trying to say, and what it is NOT trying to say. I have seen some very disturbing arguments against the topic, so let me know what you think!?

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Fact: One in Nine men will be diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder.

Fact: Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression, but men are 4 times more likely to die from suicide. 

Call & Shafer. (2015).  Gendered Manifestations of Depression and Help Seeking Among Men. American Journal of Men’s Health. 

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Really good Ted Talk from Justin Baldoni. 

“I can tell you right now, it is EXHAUSTING trying to be man enough for everyone, all the time.”

“I know men who would rather die than tell another man how they feel.” 

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“ It has been suggested that some dominant aspects of traditional masculinity are contributing to the high suicide rates among Australian men. We developed a three-episode documentary called Man Up, which explores the complex relationship between masculinity and suicide and encourages men to question socially imposed rules about what it means to be a man and asks them to open up, express difficult emotions, and seek help if and when needed. We ran a three-phase social media campaign alongside the documentary using 5 channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr).”

 Schlichthorst et. al. (2018). Influencing the Conversation About Masculinity and Suicide: Evaluation of the Man Up Multimedia Campaign Using Twitter Data. JMIR Mental Health Journal.

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Psychology and psychotherapy were designed by males to treat females, and while in recent years psychology has adapted a way to treat LGBT communities, women, different ethnic and race groups, therapy tailored specifically for men is still one that has not been adopted. 

Eil, Philip (2017) “Here’s Why it’s Still Really Hard to Get Men to Go to Therapy.” VICE: Tonic.

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If there is one population that is highly under-studied, represented, and acknowledged, it is those who are incarcerated. The vast majority of those who are incarcerated are men. This research study focuses on men’s mental health in and out of the prison system, and what hyper-masculine environments can do to their health. In addition to that, most men who are incarcerated have been exposed to violence and adversity since childhood. The study follows 18 different men who have been out of the prison system for 5 years.  THESE ARE THE FACTS PEOPLE!!

Oliffe et. al. (2018) “Do You Want To Go Forward? Or Do You Want to Go Under?” Men’s Mental Health In and Out of Prison. American Journal For Men’s Health.

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“Men make up over 75 percent of suicide victims in the United States, with one man killing himself every 20 minutes.”

Men are more likely to have successful suicides, and are more likely to be substance abusers, 3 to 1 compared to women. Perhaps a solution is to treat this as a social issue as much as it is a mental health one! Knowledge is power.

Whitely, Rob. (2017). Men’s Mental Health: A Silent Crisis. Psychology Today. 

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It seems as though perceived masculinity is NOT limited to just the straight cis-gender community, but the LGBT community as well. Interesting video from the perspective of a gay man! 

ImFromDriftWood, 2017. Being Masculine is Preferred, The Pressures of Acting Masculine in the Gay Community. Youtube. 

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Cultural Scenario:

You work as a therapist at a private psychology practice. One day, you get a young boy who has been mandated by his school to come talk to you. He is constantly acting out, and it has been known that his home life is tough. When he comes to your office, he refuses to speak to you because he thinks that talking about his home life will make him weak. In addition to this, he also does not like that you are a woman and thinks that speaking to a women about his issues will make him “soft.” What do you do?

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Interesting perspective on why men do not talk about mental health issues.  So far I have posted a lot about society and shaping our perceptions of masculinity through culture. These reasons may be less talked about, but still relevant! 

Men tend to respond to humor more than empathetic or sympathetic messages, maybe advertisements for depression and mental health issues should have men as a target in mind. Men also RESPOND to mental health differently than women do. Men also ask for help with mental health differently; it is not as straightforward as women typically are! 

Doshi, Sachin (2018). Mental Health America.