Men's Mental Health Campaign
Seeking help for depression, or mental health issues in general, often caries a stigma. Someone who wants to reach out for help, someone who is ready to admit he or she is struggling may not do so out of fear of appearing weak. Culturally, men are often guilty of this – noted by our stereotypical unwillingness to ask for directions while clearly lost. Hell, Penn students as a whole are often guilty of this – as our high-achieving egos feel the need to appear effortlessly brilliant.
But we must realize that our mental wellbeing is not a place to be stubborn or masochistic. We must recognize that mental illnesses can be as debilitating as physical ones – and potentially just as lethal. We must actively discuss men’s mental health and remove the stigma that a man who is depressed is not a man.
MANUP’s goal is to empower Penn students to recognize depression, to address depression on their own, and to know when to seek further help for depression. Depression is a common and normal medical condition - like near-sightedness or acne – and we all need to work on treating it as such - in both ourselves and in our friends.
Ultimately, our campaign is about knowing ourselves and knowing those we are close to. If you feel depressed, you know something doesn’t feel right – reach out to a friend, you may be surprised how willing they are to help. If you know someone who may be depressed, you can see they are not themselves – reach out to them, you may be surprised at how much they need you.
FAQ
1) Is depression really an issue in college students?
Yes. 1 out of 4 young adults will experience a major depressive episode by the age of 24. Nearly 1 out of 2 college students report being so depressed at some point that they have trouble functioning.
2) Women get depressed. Why worry about men’s mental health?
Depression is likely under-diagnosed in men. Depression looks different in men, and there are gender-based stigmas and barriers to men seeking help for depression. Men get depressed; we just don’t talk about it. Help MANUP change that.
3) Yeah, but don’t guys just snap out of depression?
No one just snaps out of depression – treating depression is a very difficult, very personal process with gradual improvement.
4) Ok, but why the signs about suicides? Isn’t that a little extreme? And why single out men?
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. Depression is not just feeling sad – in a 12 month period, nearly 1 out of 10 students will report being depressed enough to seriously consider suicide. Additionally, men are much less likely to reach out when they are feeling depressed and contemplating suicide. When men attempt suicide, we use extremely lethal methods – guns and hanging. This makes a male depression an extremely precarious scenario which has serious potential to turn tragic.
Are you interested in helping yourself?
Are you interested in helping a friend?
http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/info-and-facts/depression.aspx