The document discusses male suicide rates and mental health issues. It finds that male suicide rates are significantly higher than females, which could be due to stigma around men expressing feelings without seeming weak. Official statistics show a rise in UK male suicides in 2013 to their highest rate in over a decade, while female rates have remained lower and constant. The document also notes that men are less likely to seek treatment for mental health issues and more likely to have substance abuse problems. A case study highlights how one man silently suffered and took his own life shortly after a failed attempt to get mental health help.
2. SUICIDE RATES:
According to statics by the Centre for Disease Control, suicide is four times
higher among men than it is women. "Suicide needs to be addressed as a
health and gender inequality—an avoidable difference in health and length of life
that … affects men more because of the way society expects them to behave,"
according to a report by Samaritans, a U.K.-based suicide-prevention
organization.
The number of people killing themselves in the UK rose in 2013, official
figures have revealed, as male suicides hit their highest rate in more than a
decade.
The UK male suicide level was more than three times higher than for
females, with 19 male deaths per 100,000 - the highest since 2001.
The male suicide rate in the UK has "increased significantly" since 2007, the
ONS said, while female rates have stayed "relatively constant" and been
"consistently lower" than in men.
Suicide remains the leading cause of death in England and Wales for men
aged 20 to 34, accounting for 24 per cent of all deaths in 2013
3. CONCLUSIONS:
Male suicide rates are significantly higher than
females. This could be because the stigma
around men expressing worries or concerns
about many issues is awful. Its not that common
for males to express their feelings without the
worry of looking weak. The butch stereotyping
has a serious affect on the mental health of
males. Although females are also limited by false
stereotypes and ‘the glass ceiling’ its clear men
also struggle with this issue.
4. CASE STUDY: Nelson Pratt
This is a clear example of how males can silently
suffer. The lack of help from medical professions is
very worrying considering he killed himself the day
after trying to seek ‘help’.
5. MENTAL HEALTH & SEEKING
HELP
Women are more likely to have been treated for a mental health
problem than men (29% compared to 17%).This could be
because, when asked, women are more likely to report
symptoms of common mental health problems. (Better Or Worse:
A Longitudinal Study Of The Mental Health Of Adults In Great
Britain, National Statistics, 2003)
It has also been suggested that depression in men may have
been under diagnosed because they present to their GP with
different symptoms. (National Institute For Clinical Excellence,
2003)
Men are more likely than women to have an alcohol or drug
problem. 67% of British people who consume alcohol at
‘hazardous’ levels, and 80% of those dependent on alcohol
are male. Almost three quarters of people dependent on
cannabis and 69% of those dependent on other illegal drugs
are male. (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity
report, 2001)
6. 0:54 – 1:36
“I’ve tried to take my own life twice in the past 4
years….it took me nearly 10 years to get a diagnosis ..
In and out of my GP .. And when I did get a diagnosis
… 102 weeks I waited for the treatment to start.”
7:50 – 9:27
“how it is difficult for men to be the macho ‘nothings
wrong ill look after everybody’
“whether we like it or not, I feel men are very reticent to
speak about their wellbeing or health” “people who go
and say they are feeling suicidal have to be believed. I
feel this so strongly.