Gender Trouble: Social Expectations As A Barrier To Mental Health Treatment for Men

Women are largely granted social permission to seek help for their psychological distress, partially because mental health issues are often regarded as a weakness and both physical and psychological weakness have historically been seen as feminine traits. While gender stereotypes have been used to oppress women and have themselves been the cause of profound psychological suffering and mistreatment, they have also provided opportunities for women to express themselves, find social support for their struggles, and seek professional mental health services.

Meanwhile, the construction of ideal masculinity has historically framed displays of emotion as undesirable in men, and incompatible with the image of appropriate male behavior. Expressions of psychological distress and vulnerability have been stigmatized socially and discouraged from a young age, causing many men to be reluctant to admit their emotional struggles–and creating powerful barriers to mental health treatment. These attitudes are part of many boys’ formative family dynamics, and are reinforced through our larger culture, becoming deeply ingrained in the psyches and self-images of men. Moreover, men generally have fewer models for how to talk about overwhelming emotional experiences, and may lack both the language to express themselves and the insight to identify their symptoms as indicative of a mental health disorder. Admitting that you are suffering from complex psychological pain can threaten your sense of self and cause great fear of rejection, emasculation, and loss of social status.

The damage done when you do not seek social support and professional treatment for your mental health disorder can be profound. In fact, suppressing your emotions and isolating yourself from a supportive network can cause and aggravate feelings of distress. In the absence of healthy coping mechanisms, many men turn to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate and drown their sorrows, compounding their existing psychological illness and creating a new, co-occurring substance abuse issue. Without effective intervention, symptoms often become more severe over time, as painful and self-destructive emotional and behavioral patterns become established and reinforced. Men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide. Though this is in part because they choose more lethal methods, it is also because they are significantly less likely to have healthy outlets and professional support for their emotional disorders.[2. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-in-men.htm]