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accessHealthNews.net
December 2021
Volume 8 | Issue No. 52
"I literally would have rather died than have someone
know I was seeking mental health treatment. Mental
health treatment was for psychos and legitimately crazy
people – not 'normal' kids and young adults like me."
This article was originally published in June 2021.
F
or 44-year-old Brian Miller and many
other white men in the rural Midwest,
mental health stigmas and strict gender
roles discourage attempts to seek help and
contribute to high suicide rates. Nationally,
males have a suicide rate 3.7 times higher than
females and in Missouri, white suicide rates
doubled that of other races.
According to Missouri Department of Mental
Health (DMH), adult men are most at risk for
suicide, with 380 adult men between the
ages of 35-60 years old dying of suicide each
year. While small-town stigmas and machismo
stereotypes contribute to shame driving men
away from asking for help, the armed forces
also play a unique role. Veteran suicide rates
are 1.5 times greater than non-veteran suicides
and many former members point to the lack of
support when returning to civilian life.
Men feeling ashamed, isolated, and
unsupported are more likely to turn to
substances to cope and are at risk for suicidal
thoughts, ideations, and attempts. While the
number of mental health providers in Missouri
increased throughout 2020, resources are
irrelevant if men don't feel comfortable utilizing
them.
Each June, Men's Health Month highlights
the unique health challenges men face and
the changes necessary to improving men's
physical and mental health. Men's Health
Month underscores the need to not only help
men now, but to better support boys raised
in the future, which must include normalizing
conversations around mental health. While
rural attitudes surrounding mental health and
treatment may vary, many men agree on one
resource they wish they had sooner: another
man to talk to who could understand.
MASCULINITY, MENTAL HEALTH, AND
MEN'S CONFIDENCE
As an adolescent in Omaha, Neb., poverty also
played a role in Miller's mental health issues as
money was tight and he didn't want to further
burden his family by requesting extra money for
health care. When he did raise concerns about
his anxiety, he was told he "didn't have the
balls to handle the situation." This expectation
of constant hypermasculinity is unfortunately
the norm for many men, especially in rural
areas with gendered family dynamics, and can
push men away from seeking help in the future.
In his small town growing up, anyone's business
was everyone's business and staying quiet was
necessary to avoid being labeled a freak.
