The Movember Generation: Futureproofing men’s health

“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in,” Desmond Tutu.

The world loses one man to suicide every minute of every day. Movember’s goal is to save more men’s lives. For that to happen, we need to start conversations about mental health early – like, teenage early.

Kick-starting these convos in adolescence is important because 50% of mental health conditions are established before the age of 14, and 75% by age 24. Research also suggests that mental health issues influence at least 90 per cent of suicides.

What boys learn as teenagers will help to shape the men they become. Teaching them about mental health, how to look after their own, and how to support their friends is critical to their later-in-life health and happiness. More immediately, talking about health while they’re young can help young guys identify and deal with things like depression, anxiety and other mental health issues they may already be facing. This becomes even more urgent when you consider that mental health issues are risk factors for suicide, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among males aged 15-29.

Movember’s mental health and suicide prevention programs are designed to promote mental wellbeing, connection, open conversation, and to teach resilience during the critical developmental period of adolescence. Equipped with mental health tools and understanding in adolescence directly impacts boys’ and young men’s potential to thrive. This in turn directly impacts their physical and mental health in adulthood.

Everything is connected, and it’s Movember’s aim to set boys up with everything they need to weather life’s curveballs, and to thrive as men.

Check out our work with boys and young men in more detail by heading here: https://movember.com/impact#/groups/life-stages.