While our society may be unsafe for women, it isn’t quite ideal for men either. Men have issues of their own. Thanks to the patriarchal, set up men often find it difficult to open about their own issues. Our society especially lacks empathy when it comes to men. With the society built up like this, mental health is a taboo word for men. Many young celebrities like Avicii, Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) have committed suicide due to mental health issues. Suffice to say, poor mental health is a global issue.
According to the latest statistics by NIHM (National Institute of Mental Health), the suicide rate among men is four times higher since the last report of 1999. The reason behind these rising number of suicides is their underlying mental health condition. Men prefer dealing with stress on their own rather than expressing it or talking about it. Some of the very common physical as well as emotional signs of a mental health problem can be exhaustion, loss of appetite, restlessness, loss of sex drive, alcohol and drug abuse, feeling sad or nervous, being isolated, feeling of guilt and hopelessness, violence and anger, suicidal feeling etc.
So, what’s the solution for this social evil? Firstly, it should be recognised as a social issue as much as a health issue. Secondly, the health department should create specific strategies to improve the measures that work towards improving mental health. Raising awareness and involving influential male celebrities would make a large difference.
Hopefully, the years to come, our society would be more accepting of these issues, so that they can be rectified slowly, if not completely.
