Men's Mental Health

How many time has a father told his son to man up every time they try to emote? How many

times have boys teased their friends by saying ‘don’t cry like a girl’? How many times have boys been conditioned to believe that their masculinity lies in denying their tears? In a patriarchal society like ours while the struggles of women continue to outweigh those of men, we cannot afford to neglect the effect this has on men. The expectations of being the breadwinners, the protectors, the vessel which continues family legacy along with the dogma attached to men expressing their feelings leads to a concerning burden on their shoulders. In rural areas of our country, women are still not permitted to get employment because the men feel like it’s their moral obligation to provide for the family. While this does have a direct impact on the financial stability of the women, nobody talks about how it affects men. The farmer suicide rates are devastating most of whom are men unable to provide for their household all by themselves. This thought process in the villages will take time to change over generations but awareness campaigns can act as a catalyst.

This culture of toxic masculinity is embedded in young boys very early on and in order to change the narrative the age group of 11-19 is the one we should be educating. Educating them about the importance of sharing all the feelings they keep pent up inside, saying all the words they are too hesitant to say, asking for the help they need openly. The only time a man cries cannot be when his son takes the irreversible decision to commit suicide because the unexpressed pain was too much to tolerate.

Some steps to combat worsening mental health in men are

1. Promote healthy friendships

2. Parents building an honest relationship with their sons

3. Seminars to spread awareness in schools and colleges

4. Omission of discriminatory phrases in the household and in society as a whole

5. Banning of entertainment media that glorifies the toxic masculinity mentality

-Aanya Bhaduri