- 9 -
accessHealthNews.net
June 2025
Volume 11 | Issue No. 97
"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." For 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 die by suicide at
a rate approximately four times higher
than females. In Missouri, the suicide rate
is about 34% higher than the national
average, with white residents accounting
for most of those deaths.
Adult men, particularly those aged 35
to 64, are the most at risk for suicide
in Missouri, according to the Missouri
Department of Health and Senior Services'
2024 State Health Assessment. 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 Missouri has continued to invest in
expanding mental health services since
2020, those resources mean little if men
don't feel safe or supported enough to use
them.
Each June, Men's Health Month highlights
the unique health challenges men face
and the changes necessary to improve
men's physical and mental health
outcomes.
"There were a lot of stigmas around the ideas of
treating mental health, or that seeking help made
you weak or less than someone else."
READ MORE
- Patrick Williams, a 34-year-old
Kansas City, Missouri resident
