When I was a little girl in primary school we would always sing about how “boys go to Jupiter…” Well, apparently, after they left Jupiter, on their way to becoming men, they would learn that it’s a jungle out there, with disorder and the need to show strength lurking everywhere.

A jungle where it is unacceptable to show too many emotions, where you have to be careful not to talk too much and always be on the lookout for opportunities where you must exert strength. Of course, I’m just paraphrasing the comments as expressed by a group of men I spoke to when gathering research for this article.

There is a working theory that men visit the doctor about 20-30 per cent less often than women. In fact, unless they are toppled over in severe pain, many men would rather “tough it out” in an effort to show strength than seek medical attention.

With a trend like this related to their physical health, is it any wonder that they take the same approach to their mental health?

In Jamaica, mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression are reported in higher number amongst women than among men with 4.3 per cent of women struggling with anxiety and 3.7 per cent suffering with depression, compared to 2.3 per cent of men for each disorder.

Is it, however, a case where women are more susceptible to mental health disorders or is it that men would rather suffer in silence than be vulnerable and seek help for their mental illness?

Here are several views some Jamaican men shared as their thoughts on mental health.

“Men don’t take mental health seriously because it goes back to how we are wired as males to not show weakness, not just mental illness but illness overall, anything that shows weakness is not manly…”

“Society puts too much pressure on us and how we should function. If we shed tears then we are called bawly bawly, if we walk with too much pep in our step, or a smile on our face, we are a weak fence and if we talk too much about our emotions, we called mamma man…”

“The need to be physically and financially strong puts a lot of pressure us and sometime we tend to overthink about our futures and the thoughts just loop round and round…”

The stigma of the struggle

With masculine stereotypes compounded by the ultimate stigma attached to those who struggle with mental health, why would any man feel empowered to share his struggle? The thought of being judged and viewed as weak and lacking in control is not very welcoming for any man.

Ambition and anxiety

Their ambitions and the stresses they put themselves under in order to achieve them can lead to manifestations of mental health disorders. The same need to show physical strength, however, oftentimes prevents them from seeking professional help, perhaps because they believe that admitting that something is wrong with their mind is an admission that something is ultimately wrong with them.

Seeking support

While only one from the group admitted to struggling with a mental health disorder, each echoed the importance of speaking to someone to get support in the struggle.

Fear of being seen as feeble aside, any person struggling with a mental health disorder is encouraged to speak to a mental health professional who will be able to diagnose the specific illness and provide support towards coping or even overcoming. All the best!

Sereta Thompson is a public relations professional and mental health advocate. She can be contacted at seretaathompson@gmail.com Follow her on Instagram: @ShadesOfSerri