Half of young men have avoided talking about their feelings because they don’t want to appear less of a man, according to Movember-funded research.
The global poll, which was carried out by Ipsos MORI, of 4,000 adult males aged between 18-75, found that despite awareness that talking openly was an effective way of dealing with problems, younger men (aged 18-34) were particularly reluctant to do so.
Brendan Maher, Movember’s global mental health director, says: “It is worrying that young men are still feeling under pressure to conform to age-old, masculine stereotypes that stop them from talking about the things that keep them up at night.
“Bottling up your feelings isn’t the best way of dealing with mental health challenges so we need to continue tackling these outdated ideas which are harming men.”
Three out of four suicides are men and it remains the biggest cause of death for men under the age of 44.
Movember is committed to tackling the crisis through its investment in mental health early intervention and suicide prevention programs.
Brendan says: “Taking part in Movember is about doing things differently. As well as raising funds for men’s health, you act as a brave, hairy billboard for starting deeper and meaningful conversations. We encourage everyone to sign up to take part and to be there for the guys who matter in their lives, through good times and bad.”
Ipsos MORI conducted a quota survey through its online panel of 4,000 men aged 18-75 across the UK, America, Canada and Australia (1,000 respondents in each country). Response quotas were set based on age, region and working status and the final data were weighted to reflect these profiles. Fieldwork ran from 30th July – 12th August 2019.
ii Three quarters of men (77% global combined, UK 77%, Australia 74%, USA 77%, Canada 80%) think that talking is an effective way to deal with problems, and 76% (UK 77%, Australia 76%, USA 75%, Canada 74%) believe that talking openly can have a positive impact on mental health.
hirez.png)
