November is Movember month, the popular mustache growing phenomenon that has swept the nation!
The motto for this movement is “Stop Men dying too young.”
Men’s health has become a popular issue lately and for good reason. But it’s more than just the physical health of men that we should be focusing on.
In Canada, the suicide rate for males is three times higher than the rate for females (17.9 versus 5.3 per 100,000). Men are also less likely than women to seek help for all sorts of problems--including depression, substance abuse and stressful life events--even though they encounter those problems at the same or greater rates as women.
So why the disconnect? Why aren’t these men getting help?
The challenge for men who want help with their emotional lives is often the stigma – the idea in our culture that men should be strong and not seek help. Traditional masculine role socialization is a big part of why men don’t seek therapy.
Traditionally what it meant to be a male involved ideals of toughness, independence and emotional control.
Thankfully, gender roles are changing and men are more open to the idea of seeing a therapist.
The stigma behind “vulnerability” is also changing.
For an example of this view Brene Brown’s Youtube video on “The power of vulnerability.”
In my experience as a therapist I often see people trying to skip the “feeling” part and jump right to the solution.
It’s hard to let go and trust ourselves in the presence of strong emotions. People are very solution-oriented and I think they find some safety in that method.
However the “solution” often comes from experiencing and allowing our emotions to exist, by simply giving them space to be.
I have worked with many men in the last seven years of my practice. In fact I would say that almost 50 per cent of my individual clients are male.
I also work with women, teens and couples.
For more information visit my website at: www.shift-counselling.com or contact me directly by email: [email protected] or phone: 778-858-2669.
I currently work out of the Bowen Island Naturopathic Clinic in Artisan Square on some evenings and weekends.
