Although Movember has come to an end and a lot of the mustaches are gone for another year, it is crucial that we continue the conversation about men’s mental health. The men’s mental health crisis is alarming in Canada, with statistics showing that over 1 million Canadian men suffer from major depression, yet they account for only 30% of those who seek help from mental health services. Furthermore, men account for 75% of suicides in Canada. This shows just how important it is to normalize the fact that men face mental health challenges, and to remind our loved ones that they are not alone in that.
The social stigma around “manliness” can be extremely discouraging for men suffering with their mental health, and make it hard for them to reach out for help. Movember is a foundation using the mustache as a symbol to represent support for men’s health. They focus on creating open conversation on the topic of men’s mental health, with a goal of education, fostering communication, and ultimately suicide prevention among men.
Movember was started in 2003 by two friends, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery in Melbourne, Australia. It started as a goal to bring the mustache back into style after the trend started to disappear, with 30 participants devoted to the mission. Movember began raising money in 2004, and became an official Australian charity in 2006. Since then, the charity has expanded to 19 countries worldwide. In Canada, Movember has partnered with Prostate Cancer Canada, and plans on investing $5.8 million into prostate cancer research across the country.
Although our topic of conversation at WPHA this past month focused on men’s mental health, Movember supports three main causes. Prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention are all extremely relevant topics among men’s health, and Movember takes on all of them on a global scale by supporting over 1250 men’s health projects. Movember explains that men die on average 4 years earlier than women. Prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health all play a role in this. Specifically, males account for 69% of suicides globally. All together, these make up a mental health crisis among men that needs attention from the public in order to make a change. Not only donations, but education and fostering an understanding about the severity of this crisis can all help to continue the progress that Movember is making to address it.
Western Public Health Association’s Mic’d Up podcast this month featured Mani, founder of Asara, a mental health campaign at Western. In this month’s episode, Mani shared valuable insights into the importance of men’s mental health, and how it is prevalent at Western. WPHA is aiming to continue to foster this open conversation about public health topics that affect Western students every day. Movember is an excellent yearly reminder of the importance of men’s mental health, but it is crucial that this open and honest conversation continues even after the mustaches are gone. Linked below are WPHA’s November podcast featuring Mani, as well as links to resources that are available if yourself or a loved one is struggling with their mental health.
Mental Health Resources
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