Ainsley Murphy
Ainsley's Dawn to Dusk Challenge page
Fundraising for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)
Story
Recently I have been reminded of the often hidden, fragility of the male mind and in response feel motivated to help raise awareness.
Now, more than ever, mental health is a topic of conversation and we are making real progress towards making it less of a taboo subject. However, whilst struggles with mental health affect people of all ages, genders and backgrounds, the reality is that men seek help far less often.
In 2019 there is an increased understanding of how gender stereotypes can be problematic, but in general we still condition men from a young age to believe that crying, or revealing emotions in general, is a sign of weakness. Feeling unable to talk about these perceived weaknesses can very quickly lead to confusion, isolation, self-loathing and ultimately, self-destruction.
Men are led to believe that they should be strong and capable. Our archaic social construct suggests that, men are the builders of homes, breadwinners, protectors of women and children and must show unwavering resolve in the face of adversity. Whether these expectations are actual or not in the 21st century, what happens when we fail to live up to them? What if your own mind prevents you from seeing yourself as worthy but you’ve been conditioned never to talk about it and asking for help seems like an admission of failure?
Whilst there may generally be physical differences between men and women, we all have the same requirements when it comes to mental health. If men can be encouraged to reveal their vulnerability in the same way as many women feel comfortable doing, thousands of lives could be saved every year.
- Suicide is the single biggest killer of men aged under 45 in the UK.
- In the last year 34% of men aged 35-44 have felt their life is not worth living.
- In the UK 84 men die by suicide every week.
- 3 in every 4 UK suicides are male.