IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Why Won't Men Get Help?

by Nick Tuths Today’s “D Block” – or fourth segment – is an interview with a married duo taking on the Crisis of Silence among men in this

by Nick Tuths

 

Today’s “D Block” – or fourth segment – is an interview with a married duo taking on the Crisis of Silence among men in this country.

 

It’s easy to laugh at the cliché of male refusal to ask for directions when we’re lost on a road trip. But what about when we’re simply lost?  According to the piece by Betsy Bates Freed and David Freed in the Pacific Standard- even though women are diagnosed with depression more often, men account for 8 out of every 10 suicides in the U.S.  That’s a sobering statistic.

 

And while the number of men being diagnosed with depression has increased – the percentage of those that opt for therapy and “talking it out” is plummeting. Meaning: more and more men are looking for a silver-bullet cure from their pharmacist, than a conversation with their therapist.  

 


 

So, how do we help break through this “culture of stoicism” in a gender that was brought up believing that boys don’t cry, and men “handle their own business”?

 

Hopefully a segment like this shows that speaking up and asking for help, is more brave than keeping quiet. And maybe it even sheds a little light on why it’s so tough for so many people to do it.