1 in 8 Men Has a Common Mental Illness – What Do The Stats Hide Though?
Stats like the one above can be shocking. What hides behind official statistics on mental health?
Reporting the facts such as above can be a difficult task, especially when it comes to men. Facts like these can only come from reported cases of mental health issues. That means that people need to have acknowledged their difficulties and sought help.
The Priory Group [2] ordered a survey of 1000 men in 2015. The survey showed that 40% of the respondents would only seek help if their mental health issues were suicidal thoughts or self-harm. This means that the numbers of men suffering from common mental health issues could be higher.
The statistics also show that 77% of men have suffered with mental issues at some point. Know what that means? Instead of 1 in 8 men having a mental health issue, it could be closer to 6 in 8 men.
So why don’t men talk?
36% of men didn’t ‘want to be a burden’ and 16% of men reported not wanting to ‘appear weak’. 14% of men said they didn’t have anyone to talk to. Put another way? The statistics mean that 1 in 8 men feel they do not have someone to talk to. It also means 2 in 8 men don’t want to be a burden, and 1 in 8 men don’t want to appear weak.
It is so important that if you or someone you know is suffering that you can spot mental health issues and offer help. If your brother had injured their hand with a power tool, would you help them? Of course! So what’s the difference?
Mental health concerns can have many hidden or unseen symptoms and signs, but do you know what? They also have many visible symptoms. That’s why we do the work that we do here at Mental Health Midlands and in the Mental Health First Aid network nationwide. Get in touch to find out how we can help.
We can help
Based in Wolverhampton, Mental Health Midlands is a first-class training provider supporting businesses in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Walsall and the Black Country. We provide recognised course in mental health such as two-day courses to become Mental Health First Aiders to basic entry level half day mental health courses to aid understanding of a misunderstood area. We help businesses to overcome mental health issues and break the stigmas around mental health in the workplace.
