Too many men suffering in silence, national health report finds

jwr

403 forbidden

tete

I think the fact that in general women are considered to have more mental health issues and men committing suicide way more often shows that this headline is true.

FLeXMurphy

> The findings will now help guide the development of Canada's first Federal Men and Boys' Health and Well-being Strategy, expected to be released in early 2027. It would not surprise me to see protesting over this, as has been similarly done in the past. The person who organized a men's-support-group some years back in Canada, if I remember right, ended up committing suicide after it was forced to be shut down by protestors.

marksbrown

The birds they sing, At break of day. Start again I heard them say. Dwell not on what has passed away, Or what is yet to ring, Forget your perfect offering, There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.

_qua

National health reports cannot fix deep-seated cultural issues. I'm sure they'll come out with a nice report on strategies to improve men's wellbeing that won't make a lick of difference unless the world at large starts to shift.

j45

1) "Poor men's health carries economic costs" Yet.. they say a man's worth is "not" the value they put in the bank account. 2) What's deadly about this space is that surveys can be toxic. Too often, it's researchers looking to slowly understand things, have people open themselves up, then leave them like that, for little to no progress in 5-10 years. That kind of system needs supply, no? 3) I have heard from some men that sometimes there can be things that only other men understand. That can be similar to women's health issues can be understood differently, or men can feel more comfortable with other men. 4) It's important for authors to try and be aware of their own unconscious biases. Much like medicine is horribly behind at understanding women's health (for example, women hearts are not the same as men's), it means the inverse can be true too, beginning with asking men.

dubcanada

westcentralonline.com ? Surely there has to be a better link to this report then a small local news website? Like maybe https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/healthy-livi...

_3u10

I found living there depressing, I left, life is better.

gcy

GQ has a good article https://archive.is/QmDHJ on https://www.reddit.com/r/BoyDinnerDiaries/

WarmWash

"Men need to be happier but they cannot live in the image they have lived in for the last few eons of evolution." Good luck with that.

everdrive

Women seem to have this special blind spot for men. It's all "empathy this" and "acceptance that," until it's a man. When they see a weak man, what they feel is disgust. And in their disgust, they try to find reasons to invalidate the suffering. He brought it on himself, or he's choosing to suffer because he refuses to open up, or women are suffering worse, etc. I think this is an intuitive reaction. It's like being grossed out by dog poop on the ground. You feel the disgust first, and although an evolutionary psychology explanation for that disgust may be true (eg, "you have evolved disgust for dog poop to prevent illness and infection) intellectualizing it further would be totally superfluous. People experience the proximate cause for these sort of evolved behaviors, even when they intellectually know better. If you think you're above this sort of reaction, try "choosing" to be attracted to an 80 year old woman.

joshuamcginnis

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.." ― Henry David Thoreau

neya

A good start would be enforcing truly gender neutral laws by governments all over the world. I personally know at least a dozen men who have been harassed by biased laws and judges when it comes to divorce. These are good men, who worked really hard and took care of their wives very well, only to get either cheated on or scammed for money and lost everything. 2 of them are even almost homeless now. Most of them have aged so poorly after just 2 years into the divorce. Their wives aren't even homemakers who sacrificed anything who are getting paid, mostly working women who have good lawyers who just abuse the laws to steal wealth. Until this system is fixed, men's mental health will always be down the toilet. What I really learned from these men is never sign a contract where the other party is incentivized to break it.

einpoklum

It seems that this is mostly written by LLM: https://www.salahadawi.com/hacker-news-ai-detector/50429475

zubiaur

As Charles Darwin deliberated, and concluded... MARRY MARRY MARRY. Q.E.D. "My God, it is intolerable to think of spending ones whole life, like a neuter bee, working, working, & nothing after all. No, no won’t do. Imagine living all one’s day solitarily in smoky dirty London House. Only picture to yourself a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music perhaps. Compare this vision with the dingy reality of Grt. Marlbro’ St. Marry — Marry — Marry Q.E.D."

midtake

I strongly oppose all comments that seem to have the causal relationship reversed, that somehow by some biological effect they are now more depressed than in the past. I think that instead the extreme demands of society are the cause and that suffering in silence is the result. What do you expect when most men have been priced out of a happy life? What do you expect when most men are villainized in the stories that dominate narratives in modern media? What do you expect when men are uniquely dehumanized and calling men less-than is okay regarding height, looks, money, or outward masculinity? If anything I am surprised that the numbers indicating suffering in silence aren't worse.

NalNezumi

Haven't this been known for a loooooooong time now...? I recall listening to TED talk (silly times) at least 15 years ago already talking about how behavioral pattern difference of seeking help between men/women pointing to this. By now I would've hoped the conversation have moved from re-recognizing the problem and iterative solution seeking? Silent suffering of this cohort have for the last maybe 10 years been too profitable segment to milk out of, to actually try to solve the underlying issue. (manosphere for example being one of the vicious extractor of this suffering) The solution have always had some alignment with the observation that for guys, a sense of belonging, purpose, (and if younger) guidance and healthy rawmodels have been important. It warms me to see how some local efforts have addressed this. How much lively the surrounding became when they installed a free-to-use outdoor gym and football courts, for people to mingle. (and for the older cohort, Frisbee golf court apparently). It doesn't help that when this conversation comes up, people start to project a lot and inevitably people will start to bring up women (in antagonistic tone) creating a cesspool of bitterness to hijack the conversation. Predictably, many of the comments here are already about women

robswc

I don't believe I suffer, but it seems pretty obvious why someone would do it in silence. Many times when I tried to get help from institutions for anything nobody seemed to care much at all. It's like you could either deal with your problems in silence or deal with them "out loud" and have people pretend to care while looking helpless. To be sure, not referencing mental health here but rather virtually any issue institutions claim to care about.

pylua

Too much emphasis on forming connections and not enough focus on providing ample opportunities to climb the success ladder. Try solving a difficult problem that has more meaning other than trying to form a problem that is easier solve.

maerF0x0

Got my hand slapped by HR for posting Movember stuff or International Men's day stuff. Silence is a learned response.