The end of June marks the final week of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, a period of raising support and awareness of the mental health struggles often faced specifically by men throughout the United States.
In Georgia, the need for mental awareness continues to rise as more males become victims of anxiety, depression and suicide.
While men are less likely to be diagnosed for depression or mental illness, they are four times more likely to end their lives on a national level, according to 2021 data from the National Institute of Mental Illness.
In 2018, according to statistics published by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilties, 78% of suicide deaths in the state were males.
Eric Rodgers is the founder of Just For Men Behavioral Health, an Atlanta-based mental health center that strives to make therapy more accessible and comfortable for men.
Rodgers counsels men in their 20s to early 70s to undergo foundational work that teaches them how to communicate their emotions and the hardships they may be facing.
“When men reach out for help and want to talk about these issues, one, they could be met with the stigmas and people respond [by] kind of challenging them on their manhood. Two, they’re speaking to another male who does not have the skills or the understanding to communicate and actually deal with that issue,” he said.
“Men really struggle seeing that [their issues] are common outside of themselves.”
The definition of ‘manhood’
In a culture that constantly evolves the nature of societal and gender norms, Hodges notes that many men struggle with figuring out what shapes their identity.
“[Whether it be] identity in the bedroom, identity as a breadwinner … they struggle to fit these sorts of idealized views on what they think they should be,” he said.
As a mental health therapist with CHRIS180, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting Georgia residents overcome mental and emotional trauma, Taylor Anderson works with young men ranging from ages 7 to 18, where he shapes treatments specifically based on the circumstances of his patients.
The 34-year-old counselor takes pride in building authentic relationships that will allow the young men to feel safe expressing their thoughts and “to be comfortable to be uncomfortable.”
Anderson often observes the pressures of social media and technology cause young men to have difficulty showing who they are compared to societal expectations.
“[They tell me] ‘Culture says I kind of got to be tough and not show emotions and kind of fit to this stereotype,’” said Anderson.
“A big thing that I do in my work is figuring out what is important to you,” he said. “What are your values? What do you want to strive for personally — individually? Not because what your mom, or dad, or friends or your coach really wants you to do.”
These struggles can also become more intense based on factors such as race and sexuality.
Anderson notes that with some of the young Black men that he has worked with, it can be difficult for them to feel comfortable enough to show joy or emotions outside of stoicism.
Rodgers says that men who identify as part of the LGBTQ community can struggle with where they fit into modern-day social structures. And that research shows the group is often overlooked.
“That ‘s a group that suffering is significant with mental health challenges as men because … they can’t necessarily talk to their everyday male friend or male person around them due to the nature of the discussions,” he said.
Social media vs interpersonal relationships
In the age of social media, children and teenagers are exposed to a flood of ideas, images and people.
However, despite the ability to connect socially with a larger audience now than ever before, Anderson believes that the shift in technology has only made it more difficult for boys to develop interpersonal relationships.
“You would think on paper [they] are more connected because they are socially around more people, but that’s just not the case,” he said. “They are feeling, I think … more alone because that social media piece isn’t giving them that type of normal social that they crave.”
During his six years as a mental health professional, Rodgers says he’s seen fewer men in the 30-40 age range commit to pursuing long-term relationships than in previous generations.
“You see quite a few men who are uncomfortable with marriage, uncomfortable with being engaged in the relationship and giving the relationships all they have and working through problems because of this idea that ‘I am not ready. I haven’t met this standard of manhood to be the breadwinner and make the money and all of this,’” he said.
Rodgers notes that the older that men get, the more that addictive habits can flourish to a destructive level, especially with stress related factors such as family, career and income playing a pivotal role.
“Many men, because they haven’t learned coping skills, a lot of their behaviors are escaped behaviors or safety behaviors … to escape those feelings that they don’t know how to talk about or even feel comfortable talking about,” he said.
‘A different approach‘
While many boys and men in recent years have begun pursuing professional mental health services, both Anderson and Rodgers note that there is still a broad stigma attached to manhood and mental health treatment.
Anderson notes that while it is easy to brush off personal struggles as temporary, they may have long-term effects that will only create more difficulties.
“If you want a little bit of something different than what you have or what you’ve been having, maybe it’s time to take a different approach,” he said.
Through his clients, he says that he has often seen feelings of relief and emotional breakthroughs in males being able to speak with someone who can relate to their experiences.
“Sometimes finding a therapist is like finding a barber. You may have to test it out and see if that individual, that person is a good fit for you. And sometimes they may not be, but that doesn’t mean that therapy doesn’t work,” said Rodgers.
“It doesn’t mean you’re crazy, it doesn’t mean anything… we all need support.”
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