Although women report higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts, men are 4 times more likely to ‘succeed’ in committing suicide. Men also experience differing symptoms of depression compared to women. Men are more likely to feel angry and frustrated rather than sad.

Men are more likely to chose violent ways of attempting suicide which are likely to result in death. In the USA, men are much more likely to use a firearm to commit suicide whereas women are more likely to use poison or drug overdose. Factors that increase the likelihood of a suicide attempt in men include drug abuse, social isolation, trauma or other mental illness.

The reasons for the high rate of suicide in men could be due to men being expected to be tough which could result in them being less likely to ask for help. From a young age men are told not to express negative emotions. Messages like ‘boys don’t cry’ and ‘you have to man up’, could be very harmful in the long run. Disaccociating emotions from weakness and lack of masculinity is important in countering these toxic beliefs.

Men often centre their worth around their financial success, which could mean that unemployment or financial difficulties are much more difficult to handle. Realising that there is more to success than how much you make is important for a healthy state of mind. Instead, nurture your relationships and focus on self growth. Your worth as a man is not determined by the amount of money you make.

Men may also lack close personal relationships, leaving them with no one to turn to in times of trouble (Joiner, 2011). Try to spend more time with friend and family and practice more self disclosure with those closest to you. It is also important for us to reach out to the men in our lives and encourage them to speak about how they’re feeling as they may not offer this information up themselves.


24 thoughts on “The Male Suicide Epidemic”

  1. Ok. That was totally a my bad moment. I put the sui word out there. I’m assuming it flags and you hop on it. Much appreciated. But totally not in that state of mind. Was merely exclaiming past struggles. Thank you though. God the internet is fucked

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. I do agree with this post. I worry about my adult millennial children because they live much more isolated lives than I did. They are gamers and never interact with our family. After already losing a sibling to suicide(he short himself in 2005) I worry when things go wrong they won’t have anyone to lean on. It’s a real issue and I’m not sure how to fix it…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  3. Pingback: The Male Suicide Epidemic – The Psych Talk – Relaxed Mind Mental Health Clinic

  5. I lost a brother to suicide in 2005. He was 25 years old. I have also been suicidal many times in my 42 years of life. It started at the age of 5 for me. I told my mom I wanted to jump out the window and kill myself. So this is a subject I know a lot about. I take medication for schizoaffective disorder, which helps, but it is my faith in God that gets me through the darkest times. I pray that anyone suffering in this way would realize their worth and find the help that they need.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I do not believe that was what the advert was telling men. In fact, I think it was showing how men are better than society deems them ‘we believe in the best of men’.

      It also challenges societies expectations of what is ‘masculine’. I think the term ‘toxic masculinity’ is misunderstood. It is not that men are toxic but societal expectations for men are toxic. The ‘boys will be boys’ and ‘boys don’t cry’ is what is toxic for men. There is more than one way to be a man and the definition of a man does not need to be someone that is violent or sexually aggressive. This expectation is often set by other males – if you can’t get sex or are physically weak you will be seen as less than. This can lead some men to proving their manliness in harmful ways.

      I do consider Gillette to be hypocritical though. They charge females more than males for similar items.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. You have no clue what you are talking about. 🤦‍♂️ The reason why men are mulling themselves is because Men are treated like shit. We are seen as expendable resources of strength, wealth and wisdom. No one (except for a small band of people) actually give a fuck about the average man, especially one that doesn’t personally benefit them. You want to find the reason men are killing themselves? Let’s start with Feminism, which after EVERYTHING men have done for them, they turn around and say that’s not enough, we demand more! Oh and you’re all to blame for any and everything we can think of. 😞 next stop, the family courts which literally destroy men’s lives and are criminally biased against them and sentance them to a life of enslavement and eventually death. Then you also have fucking psychologists putting out constant articles saying that all men’s hard work, sacrifices and deeds (that they do for the benefit of women, children and society) are now toxic and should be changed. Further more, the whole “suck it up, be a man” or the classic “man up” are taught to us by society because A: that’s what they need us to do, B: so we can actually find love/reproduce as women will not choose the beta male (unless it’s their absolute last choice) and C: Because men are given the burden of carrying the whole world on our shoulders. We are tasked with making life good for everyone else. If you don’t care about anything i just said? (All google-able facts) then YOU are contributing to more male suicides.

        Like

      2. Men do carry a lot and feminism would lighten this load on men. If women can earn as much as men, they would not have to rely on a man having to work for them etc. Men won’t have to bend over backwards to provide for their families as women can divide the load.

        A lot still needs to change in societal attitudes towards men but this is the first step to men not being seen as banks for women. Mens sacrifices are toxic FOR men not for women. You are upset about the burdens men carry yet don’t want it to change.

        Women prefer men that show emotions (googlable fact, many studies done on it) but men believe women don’t want a man that shows emotion. (https://www.elitesingles.co.uk/em/from-single-to-couple/emotional-men). Withholding your troubles has been proven to cause mental health problems. You are blaming equality for your suffering but equality would decrease male suffering.

        Women these days have to work and take care of the home and children. Women have higher rates of anxiety and depression than men and attempt suicide more than men but they are less likely to succeed in taking their own lives. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression/art-20047725. It appears in modern society, it is them that have to make life good for everyone else.

        Like

  7. I agree. I’ve had to work hard to overcome the mentality of “suck it up and be a man,” and my mental health is much better for it. I know some who aren’t so good about overcoming that though (or don’t realize that they struggle in the first place).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. I think you hit the nail on the head. Men are not to appear weak. It is driven into them from the time they can pull themselves up to a standing position. I have often written about the concept that we are who we are by what we are taught as children. Racism, what faith we believe in, how we see ourselves by what others say of us. So so many things. You can’t break away from those thoughts just because you want to. Men need to kill themselves fast, i.e. guns, I think, before they change their minds. They are against a wall. Bang! Women think about suicide longer and choose slower, less painful ways, often with the chance of being found before they die.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. I don’t know anything on this topic really, but I feel like perhaps there is some relation to the idea (or possibly fact) that women find depression extremely unattractive in men. That might not even be slightly true, but it seems to me like it is. So if you are a man and find yourself becoming depressed, then to become less attractive because of it certainly doesn’t help the situation.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  10. This is true! In my long mental health journey as a client, I have found this is absolutely true and also not discussed. Thanks for this article and the recent likes! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. And because this is an article about male suicide, going to leave the following personal experience.

    I was in the hospital one time following some suicidal episode (don’t think it was an attempt). I will never ever forget this guy. Despite the fact I went to the hospital a LOT I knew a lot and was generally supportive.

    So it was my first group, sitting around the table. And this guy shares the incredible story that he has literally attempted suicide six times in six months. Never succeeded. Six attempts in six months, still alive and at that table.

    I looked straight at him and said there is a reason you’re alive. There is a purpose for your life. There is a reason you survived all those attempts and you have to find that reason.

    The guy really listened, took me seriously. I think he was in a gown. I encouraged them to find a T shirt for him or something and things started turning around right then.

    Later he found his GF was pregnant with his child. He was gonna be a daddy! Suddenly he knew why he hadn’t been able to die although he had kept trying. His child needed him.

    I left, but they kept him because they wanted to make sure he didn’t try a seventh time. But he had a much better attitude and outlook on life by then. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. This is a very touching issue. If I may open up for a second, I never truly knew what depression was. I get down every so often and let me say as an artist who had to raise himself at the tender age of 5 I have been blessed if I may use that term in the mental category. I saw real depression and didn’t no what to do for that person at the time. I am one who likes to wave the magic wand to make issues of pain go away for people. I don’t want my kids to go through pain since I had done it for them. But, we all travel our own roads. And we are not all wired the same.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  16. Pingback: “Men often centre their worth around their financial success” – Nathan Larson

  18. For a long time I have sporadically thought that I would like to control my own death. Just to make it clear, I am euthymic with no suicidal ideation. I am quite emotionally detatched and I think it would be a logical choice that if when I am older and if I am in more physical pain or deteriating I would like to have a rave in the woods then kill myself in a field with my favourite song playing. I do not see this as morbid and I would like to live for as long as possible. I would rather opt out to avoid later pain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.