Renewed focus placed on men’s mental health across area

MIAMI VALLEY — There is a renewed focus on men’s mental health.

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June is men’s mental month and numbers show that one in 25 men suffer from depression and one in eight has anxiety.

News Center 7′s Nick Foley spoke with Julie Manuel of Kettering Health’s Behavioral Medical Center.

“You know, the societal norm is, you know, pull your bootstraps up, you know, and just get right back to work, and thinks will be okay,” she said.

Manuel says now more attention is being placed on a growing trend of men dealing with some form of mental illness. Combine that with the fact that men are less likely to seek help for issues like depression and stress.

The problem can go untreated.

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Foley reports that men account for 80% of suicides, according to Mental Health America.

Manuel says a big effort has been put into making people know that it’s okay “to not be okay.”

But more needs to be done.

“I think just normalizing that conversation around just asking someone like, ‘Hey, I noticed that you didn’t seem like your happy self this morning or had noticed you’ve been coming in late to work. Is everything good?’” explained Manuel. “You know, and just kind of opening the door for conversation is definitely something that I think we all as a society and as a culture really need to start working on a little bit harder.”

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Foley says Kettering Health started expanding its intensive outpatient program to its Miamisburg campus.

The idea is to make behavioral health care available to people south of Dayton.

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Suicide is the seventh leading cause of death in men, Mental Health America said.

Only 40% of men facing mental health problems get help.

Every year, one in five adults faces a mental health problem.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health, you can call Ohio’s Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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