Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month

By Broc Martin

June marks International Men’s Health Week and 2024 celebrates its 30th anniversary. Raising Awareness about this topic remains important now as it was 30 years ago.

Each year over 3000 Australian lives are lost to suicide and approximately 75% are men.

Three quarters of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide were male.

Now I am no expert in suicide prevention and don’t proclaim to have the answers to these shocking statistics. Any Life lost is devastating and incomprehensible. These men and woman are more than a number or statistic, they are loved as a son, daughter, mother, father, brothers, and sisters. Most if not all of us have been impacted by the loss of someone we know or loved either directly or indirectly by mental health and or suicide. The tentacles of grief and trauma sparring few.

Men’s Mental Health includes emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing and this platform provides an opportunity to raise awareness on this important topic. It is well known men are less likely to reach out for support when early symptoms manifest or persist. Social and Cultural conditioning of how a man is supposed to behave and how he can express his emotions have led to serious disconnection. Disconnection from self, disconnection from purpose and disconnection from truth.

I reflect on my own journey and experiences of working with men over the last 12 years and have found three things indispensable. Courage, Connection, and Community.

I think it’s important that I make mention I had to completely revisit my understanding of what I thought courage meant. At some point in my childhood, I formed this belief which I find quite common is boys/men don’t cry, suck it up, be strong. There was no space for me sensitivity and softness and as a result this very important aspect of me was shut down and suppressed leading to a plethora of issues.

“Courage may be the most important of all virtues, because without it one cannot practice any other virtue with consistence” – Maya Angelou

It would be difficult to speak of connection without community as with all the big C’s they are explicitly connected and supportive of each other. When I have been connected to myself, connected to my purpose, and connected to community , there is an indescribable stability and grounding. Support and holding, being witnessed, and witnessing others are as old as we are as a species. Accountability, discipline, trust, mentorship, eldership, passion, encouragement, reliability, and challenge are all accessible when I lean into connection and community.

Following is a list of practical things supportive of Men’s Mental Health
·      Building social connections
·      Engage in a hobby
·      Get regular exercise
·      Nourish your body
·      Consider counselling/therapy
·      Check in on your male friends, family, and husbands/partners
·      Time in Nature