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Men and mental health:
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17 February 2010
Services for servicemenI’m angry. I’ve just finished reading another article on the armed forces. In this one, the story revolves around the "fact" that women are "more likely to suffer mental problems" than their male colleagues. After spending over a year working on Mind’s Men and Mental Health campaign, I’m smarting at this statement.
›› Attend our free conference on men and mental health.
›› Tell us your thoughts on how the mental health needs of men can be met.It’s not that men are less likely than women to experience mental distress; it’s that men are much less likely to seek help for it. It’s just this kind of approach – only looking at the figures and not the reasons behind them – that leads to services not adequately meeting the needs of its users.
But that’s not all that I’m angry about. Whatever your political point of view, I imagine that we can all agree that the human cost to our servicemen and women as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been devastating. At time of writing, the wars have taken the lives of 440 UK troops and left many more injured. But this is not the half of it. What about the injuries that aren’t so visible? Taking into account the stress they are put under, it’s unsurprising that many servicemen and women experience some form of mental distress, post-traumatic stress disorder in particular.
And so we come to the source of my frustration. Despite the mental trauma military personnel experience, there is only one main specialist mental health organisation in the whole of the UK for ex-services personnel - Combat Stress. In 2008 alone they worked with 2,500 ex-services personnel, of which 1,160 were new cases. And figures from the charity suggest that the rate of mental distress among veterans is rising.
Although Combat Stress provides an amazing amount of support to a large number of people, they cannot and should not be responsible for all ex-services personnel. But other services just aren’t always available.
Things are so bad that even some of the Army’s brightest starts have criticised the government’s treatment of ex-soldiers. Last year, Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, the most decorated soldier in the British Army, spoke out last year about the “disgraceful” treatment of soldiers experiencing mental distress. And only last week another ex-soldier came forward to denounce the ‘complacent attitude’ shown to veterans that end up in the prison system.
Things may be about to change. In January, the Government announced plans to improve NHS care for veterans and said that this would include mental health services. Perhaps this is only lip service. But, even if something is delivered, steps to improve treatment for veterans will only succeed if the particular needs of soldiers – and the needs of men (the majority of ex-services personnel are male) – are properly taken into account. Without such consideration, these plans really could be too little, too late.
Mariam Kemple, Policy and Campaigns Officer
Get involved
››Attend our free conference on men and mental health.
››Tell us your thoughts on how the mental health needs of men can be met.
Start the discussion -
20 January 2010
Eating disorders - not just a female issueA guest post from Sam Thomas of the Men Get Eating Disorders Too website and campaign
Eating disorders is an issue that is often considered to be a female only issue, but it seems conditions such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder are on the increase among men, quite possibly at an alarming rate. Thus suggesting men are under more pressures than ever before.
Last September, a professor in St Georges Hospital in London had reported seeing more male than female anorexia cases. He said he thought that there was more prevalence in the women and girls than there was in males but that there is a particular increase among young men getting referrals. In a ward of 20, there were three male inpatients on average during the summer months, whilst in previous years it would often be the case that there were no men at all.
The NHS Information Centre published statistics last year suggesting that 2.7 million people in the country have some kind of disordered eating and men make up a quarter. This is a significant rise from the figure of 10 to 15 per cent of cases only ten years ago.
The reasons why more men are developing eating disorders is complex. Research carried out by the leading eating disorders charity B-eat has suggested that many cases of male anorexia are down to excessive bodybuilding and exercise. Various pieces of research have shown that men are getting increasingly dissatisfied with their bodies. The cultural endorsement of the ‘perfect body’ in men’s magazines could play a significant role.
Other possible triggers could include: family and home life, relationships, sexuality, faith, money and work issues. You may remember MP John Prescott revealing he was bulimic throughout his years in office as Deputy Prime Minister – this shows even the most seemingly tough and powerful men are susceptible to developing an eating disorder.
Earlier last year, I began a mission to address this need by establishing Men Get Eating Disorders Too, a website and campaign aimed at raising awareness of eating disorders in men, to enable men to seek support.
Having had bulimia throughout my teens and early adult years, I knew first hand the difficulties men experienced getting professional help. Many of the websites I had come across seemed to be targeted at women and I realised that this may put off men as it may make them feel they have a ‘woman’s illness’.
The website provides information and advice on eating disorders that is specific to men, and acts as a bridge to support services available. It's also a platform for men to tell their stories and get their voices heard, with a forum where men can share experiences and offer and receive peer support.
Sam Thomas, Men Get Eating Disorders Too
2 Comments -
5 October 2009
The elderly are the happiest...but badly servedThe Telegraph recently reported that the elderly are generally mentally healthier than younger people. This is apparently explained in part by their living for the present and not worrying about the future. In a past worklife, I worked for Help the Aged and we spent a lot of our time trying to publicise the fact that many people can and do have a very active, fulfilling and happy later life.
However, the images of a 'silver surfer' generation living in retirement bliss - relaxed happiness with a yacht here and a Spanish villa there - do not hold true for the entire elderly population. In stark contrast, one in four older people have symptoms of depression severe enough to warrant intervention. But even more worrying is the fact that people over 75 are sixteen times - sixteen! - less likely to be asked about suicidal thoughts than young adults.
Why the shocking disparity? Ageism clearly plays a large part, with many wrongly believing that depression is a natural part of the ageing process. A survey by the British Geriatric Society found that over half of respondents believed the NHS is institutionally ageist. The fact that this came from doctors specialising in the treatment of older people makes the findings all the more upsetting - they really know what they're talking about.
The consequences of older people not getting proper care can be fatal. In particular, suicide rates for older men are very high. This is often blamed on the isolation that many older men experience. Around 500,000 older men live alone and, sadly, one in five people with an elderly father is not in contact with him. Mind's Men and Mental Health campaign highlights the need to make mental health services more male friendly.
Something needs to change. Services need to take the needs of older people into account and not pass their symptoms off as 'old age'. Who knows, perhaps universal 'retirement bliss' - Spanish villa included - could become a reality for the future!
2 Comments
Mariam Kemple, Policy and Campaigns Officer -
26 August 2009
Men get eating disorders too...I bet that if anyone bothered to research it (and there is probably some marketing company out there who already has), the top five office conversations would include the age old debate about Heat magazine, as well as other high-minded discussions such as which biscuit rules supreme (it's the chocolate HobNob). It starts when some unsuspecting victim walks in with the magazine in their hands. Half of the office rushes to see what the latest is on Jordan's love life and the other half scoff in disapproval. The debate begins: is celebrity culture just escapist fun or a poisonous drain on society?
Whatever the office settles upon, one thing is normally agreed: the constant barrage of images portraying unattainably 'perfect' bodies sets up an unrealistic and unhealthy standard for modern 'beauty'. No wonder we hear stories of teenage girls nearly dying to be as stick-thin as Posh. But what isn't normally discussed is the effect society's obsession with body image has on men. In fact, the incidence of eating disorders in men is on the rise - as many as a quarter of cases are thought to be male. The consensus seems to be that men are now feeling the pressure to conform to a certain body type - the 'washboard stomach' of Men's Health magazine.
Although more men now need help to tackle eating disorders, reports suggest that their needs are not being met. With anorexia and bulimia nervosa both seen as only affecting women, the services set up to deal with these problems tend to be female focused. As a result, men are put off getting help or find that their symptoms are not taken seriously. Even though some great organisations are out there that are working on this issue, such as Men Get Eating Disorders Too, much more needs to be done.
Visit our Men and Mental Health campaign page to find out more about what Mind is doing to improve mental health services for men and how you can get involved. You can also sign a petition on the Prime Minister's Office website for better service provision for men with eating disorders.
Mariam Kemple, Policy and Campaigns Officer
2 Comments