Many barriers can keep men from seeking treatment. The perception that admitting they have a drinking or drug problem is a cultural barrier. They may be overly focused on how their friends and family will see them if they start treatment. Asking for help for some men may be perceived as a weakness.
- Men may struggle to define and express their mental health challenges. ...
- Men are more likely to self-medicate before seeking help. ...
- Traditional notions of masculinity discourage mental health support. ...
- Symptoms of depression may present differently in men.
What keeps men from seeking support for mental health challenges?
What keeps men from seeking mental health support has deep roots in both traditional gender roles and societal attitudes about masculinity. Ro consulted studies from scientific and medical journals to identify six common barriers men face when seeking support for mental health challenges.
What are the barriers to substance abuse treatment?
Barriers to Substance Abuse Treatment. For example, they may be afraid to tell their boss for fear of a negative reaction, and they think they can’t miss work or afford treatment in the first place. Decades of research supports common themes for avoiding treatment: cost, denial, stigma, work and lack of awareness or knowledge.
What are the outward effects of mental illness on men?
Slide 1 of 7: The outward effects of mental illness can often be dismissed as a sign of weakness or personal failure. For men, this type of social stereotyping can be especially hard to escape-being told to “man up” is a common refrain that can be reductive and stigmatizing.
What are some barriers to seeking treatment?
Barriers to help-seeking can include difficulties in accessing support, concerns about confidentiality and trust, a preference for informal sources of help, and stigma.
Are men less likely to seek treatment?
Indeed, dozens of studies and surveys over the past several decades have shown that men of all ages and ethnicities are 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 ...
What are 3 barriers that might cause someone to not seek help for a mental disorder?
Barriers to seeking help for an emotional or mental health difficultyStigmatising beliefs. ... Perceiving problem as not serious enough. ... Reliance on self. ... Difficulty accessing help. ... Fear of negative outcome. ... Difficulty identifying or expressing concerns.
Which is the most commonly cited attitudinal barrier to treatment?
Overall, the most frequent structural barriers reported were financial (18.5%) and availability (17.7%), with a significantly higher proportion of severe cases (27.2% and 26.8% respectively) reporting those barriers as compared to moderate (18.3% and 17.0% respectively) and mild cases (11.4% and 10.7% respectively).
What are men's issues in therapy?
The term “men's issues” can refer to any number of concerns men might face, including anger management, addiction, intimacy issues, domestic violence, mid-life crises, grief or loss – in addition to mental health issues like anxiety or depression.
What gets in the way men's perspectives of barriers to mental health services?
Conclusions: The high endorsement of both structural (e.g., cost) and attitudinal (e.g., beliefs) barriers by respondents suggests that service delivery must adapt to better respond to dominant masculine ideals while also improving men's ease of access into a transparent treatment process.
What are some key barriers to mental health treatment?
The results revealed that the most common barriers are fear of stigmatization, lack of awareness of mental health services, sociocultural scarcity, scarcity of financial support, and lack of geographical accessibility, which limit the patients to utilize mental health services.
What barriers might prevent a client from seeking or accepting help?
Fears of a breach of confidentiality leading to exposure, distrust of the credibility or authenticity of providers, perceptions of judgmental attitudes, and a lack of familiarity were all identified as aspects of this barrier. Additionally, Rickwood et al.
What are emotional barriers?
An emotional barrier is a mental block that influences how you perceive others' actions and prevents you from clearly communicating your feelings. Emotional barriers can trigger an emotional response that's inappropriate or unproductive.
What are some of the personal and professional obstacles An officer faces with regard to seeking counseling?
Why do cops avoid counseling? Eight myths about law enforcement officers and mental health treatmentShift work.Long hours.Unpredictable schedules.Exposure to critical incidents.Being the frequent focus of public attention and criticism.Various physical demands.High rates of on-the-job injuries.
What are barriers to intervention?
The barriers were conceptualized at three levels: health-care provider (HCP), patient, and unit. Commonly mentioned barriers were time constraints and workload (HCP), patient clinical acuity and their perceived 'sick role' (patient), and lack of proper equipment and human resources (unit level).
What are some barriers doctors face to seeking help for their mental health issues?
In this review the most common barriers to seeking help were:Difficulty in scheduling an appointment – long wait times, services under pressure.Not knowing where to get help – who to ask, what type of treatment to seek.Getting time off work – shortage of after-hours appointments.More items...
What barriers do men face in accessing treatment?
Many barriers can keep men from seeking treatment. The perception that admitting they have a drinking or drug problem is a cultural barrier . They may be overly focused on how their friends and family will see them if they start treatment. Asking for help for some men may be perceived as a weakness. If they’re the breadwinner in their family, taking time off to focus on recovery may seem like too much of a financial sacrifice.
What other gender-specific barriers to recovery do men face?
Romantic relationships, even supportive ones, can seem like a helpful thing for a man in recovery. But, how he sees that relationship can affect his commitment to the work needed to stay sober after a program ends. Men may prioritize a developing relationship over their self-care. They may avoid spending time in meetings that take them away from a romantic partner. They may tell their partner how they’ve conquered addiction and don’t need the extra time and tools to keep it going. Some men may begin to hide drinking or drug use to keep up the appearance of sobriety.
How does mental health become a barrier to treatment?
Men may feel a certain stigma about admitting that a mental health issue may be contributing to their drinking or drug use. They may try to mask the symptoms of depression or anxiety. The impact of toxic masculinity may have taught them to “deal” with problems by just focusing on something else. These men have not yet discovered the connection between their substance use and mental health.
Why do men stop seeking treatment?
Men may tell themselves for months, even years, that they are in control of their drinking or drug use. They may think they can cut down on their alcohol or drug consumption whenever they like. In fact, they might even do so for a few weeks. However, many commonly abused substances are highly addictive and the DIY approach to abuse and addiction invariably fails without professional assistance.
Why don't men ask for help?
To ask for help is to admit that there is a problem, a serious problem. Traditionally, men may feel that an inability to cope with a problem on their own is a sign of weakness, and this unfortunate notion has underscored a stigma of treatment for men. The aversion of perceived weakness is powerful. In fact, women are more likely to be referred to addiction treatment through their mental health therapist or counselor; men, however, are more likely to be forced to accept substance abuse treatment by the criminal justice system.
Why do men take time off from work?
Traditional gender roles regarding work also impact men’s decision to forgo or put off treatment. Traditionally, men have been the primary breadwinners for their families, and while that has changed dramatically in the past several decades, many men are still loathe to take time away from their careers to seek professional treatment. They may worry that their employer will look differently at them —possibly even overlook them when it comes to promotion. Many men feel that taking time away from work is risking their livelihood, which is a decided barrier to treatment. Unfortunately, continuing to abuse drugs or alcohol is also a risk to not just their jobs—but their health as well.
Why do women seek help from mental health providers?
Women are more inclined to seek out help from a mental healthcare provider like FHE Health because it tends to bother them less to talk about their problems; many innately understand that talking about their problems makes them feel better. It may take men a bit longer to feel comfortable talking about their problems or negative emotions, but the need to do so is great. By opening up to treatment, men can successfully manage their substance addictions and prevent relapse.
Do men drink more than women?
Both men and women engage in problem drinking and drug use, but statistics demonstrate that men do it more frequently than women. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “men are almost two times more likely to binge drink than women” and “among drivers in fatal motor-vehicle traffic crashes, men are almost twice as likely as women to have been intoxicated.” Regardless of gender, the sad truth is that more than 90% of individuals who need treatment for substance abuse or a dependency don’t get it. While women may face some gender-related barriers to getting substance abuse treatment, many men often struggle with some traditional stereotypes and conventional notions about masculinity that prevent them from seeking the help they need.
Problem? What Problem?
But Women Are The Emotional Ones
- All humans are emotional creatures but women have been traditionally viewed as the emotional sex. Displaying these emotions may actually have served women well since bottling them up and failing to cope with them in a healthy manner is a major risk factor for substance abuse. Negative emotionslike anger, fear, and sadness are often triggers for substance abuse—and are often trig…
Shame and Embarrassment
- Men may feel too ashamed or embarrassed about their drinking or drug use problem to ask for help. Again, that notion of mental health issues and weakness has permeated male culture and is a serious barrier to recovery. Many men aren’t comfortable admitting they have a problem to a professional healthcare provider—and many still aren’t comfortable a...
Responsibilities
- Traditional gender roles regarding work also impact men’s decision to forgo or put off treatment. Traditionally, men have been the primary breadwinners for their families, and while that has changed dramatically in the past several decades, many men are still loathe to take time away from their careers to seek professional treatment. They may worry that their employer will look d…
The Diy Approach to Treatment
- Another obstacle that prevents men from seeking treatment—they think they can handle the problem themselves. Men may tell themselves for months, even years, that they are in control of their drinking or drug use. They may think they can cut down on their alcohol or drug consumption whenever they like. In fact, they might even do so for a few weeks. However, many commonly ab…