Men’s mental health in the Philippines is often overlooked. Filipino men stereotype is to be “barako” or “tough guy” in English translation. The stigma on mental health has prompted men to hide in their masculine shells and never open up about mental health. As the Philippines is a patriarchal country, men should be leaders. They’re not supposed to be driven with emotions. This means that they should not cry, talk about their problems, take mental health breaks, and other healthy coping methods that they should be doing. Instead, they turn into doing unhealthy coping methods that may be effective but dangerous in the long run.
Men are also human beings, They have emotions like women. All human beings are capable of having emotions. When it comes to mental health, men are not the exception. Filipino men are not, too. Just like the rest of the men population in the world, they may have mental health challenges. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, one in ten American men has depression and anxiety. From a worldwide perspective, one in five men will have anxiety at a certain point in their lives. In this blog, we’ll be talking about men’s mental health, what are the common unhealthy coping methods of men, and how can you help your male friend to seek help.
Men’s Mental Health: What’s the Case?
Unlike women’s mental health, men are adamant about talking about their mental health. When it comes to the mental health of men, like most mental health cases, go undiagnosed or untreated. Men do not seek treatment more than women because of the mental health stigma that goes around. The stigma on mental health; people saying that its a weakness to talk about mental health or its overacting or a religious issue; is what prevents people from actually seeking the help they need.
This frequently happens in men more than women. The pressure of society on men who are encouraged to be strong, dominant and not weak and submissive has pushed men to repress their emotions and resort to unhealthy coping methods such as binge drinking and violence against women. When their mental health declines with n proper intervention methods, they are likely to commit suicide. In fact, in the UK, 75% of the suicide cases were men. The stigma on mental health and standards of society has cornered men to fight against their inner nemesis.
Men’s Common Unhealthy Coping Methods
Most men don’t really have healthy outlets to relieve their stress. As manly as they are they’re pushed to unhealthy habits and vices such as doing drugs, alcohol, smoking, gambling, and the like. They do that because that’s what older, “tougher” men do. In the Philippines, the common things men do when they are in distress is to smoke and drink till dawn. At this point, let’s take a closer look at the usual coping methods of men all over the world:
1. Binge Drinking – one bottle is fine but there goes another two. Then now it’s down to four and five bottles emptied out. Men love to drink for leisure, but oftentimes, it’s to release stress. Drinking alcohol can also keep their anxiety at bay and lul them to sleep in case they have insomnia. There have been researches that men who are suicide victims have alcohol binge drinking habits. Additionally, men who binge drink tend to suffer from other health problems such as liver cirrhosis, cancer of the mouth, etc.
2. Smoking – smokers have found that elevated mood is one of the effects of nicotine use. Men smoke cigars to help regulate their emotions. While it is effective like alcohol, cigarettes have their own health hazards. Nicotine is an addictive substance that prompts the user to consume it in an unhealthy amount. In fact, men smoke five times more than women. They smoke not only to help with their emotions but because of social pressure and leisure. It is an unhealthy coping method for men (and women) because it can lead to health issues such as throat and lung cancer.
3. Drug Abuse – intoxicating in illegal drugs is considered a crime. There are some drugs like CBD or cannabinoids that are used to legally treat mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Its legal status is dependent on which state or country you live in. For men, the most common drugs that they use to elevate mental health symptoms are methamphetamine or mostly known as “shabu” in terms, cocaine, and marijuana. Male drug users are usually found in the slums of the urbanized city, living in poverty. However, some middle-aged men find themselves consuming these street drugs more often than party drugs like cocaine. Drug abuse can turn into a dangerous overdose.
How to Encourage Men to Talk About Their Mental Health
If you have a male friend that you feel like sharing encouragement to, then you should encourage them to talk about their mental health. This will help eradicate the stigma that men have about mental health:
Ask them how they are doing – a genuine question would lead them to open up about their feelings. If they respond with a casual “I’m okay”, then you can follow up with another question like “how’s your day?” and you can listen to whatever they have to say.
Pay attention – stay connected to the conversation. You can also pay attention to his body language if he’s uncomfortable or tense. Create eye contact and comprehend his sharing.
Consolidate him – once you get to know his issues from your sharing, tell him that you’re there for him. Also, show empathy to him no matter what you have heard. If you think he needs help (after numerous sharing of conversation), you should calmly talk to him about it.
MPsych Services for Men
Men’s Mental Health is important. You don’t have to be tough all the time. Moreover, you don’t have to destroy yourself with all the harmful coping methods. If you want to know how to do healthy coping methods, you can book a counselling session with us.