Men’s Mental Health (Guest Blogger: Kamran Sheriff)

Kamran Sheriff is a senior the University of Central Missouri. He will be graduating in May with a degree in Digital Media Production and an emphasis in digital cinema. he currently works as an office assistant in one of the dorms at his college and is currently working with the music department to create videos and online content. He is passionate about directing, filming, editing, and designing whenever he gets the chance to do so.

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In today’s society, there is a stigma surrounding the mental health of men. For a long time there has been this need to push the idea that men are supposed to represent something of a dominant and apex symbol for their gender. This expectation that we push on men has been overused and in all honesty has gotten ridiculous as of recently, along with the people who still believe this to be true.

Photo by Flora Westbrook on Pexels.com

Mental health is something that a lot of people don’t want to touch on as some see it more as a personal issue and that the individual lacks to fortitude of keeping their emotions in check. It is incredibly damaging that we need to keep pressuring men that they need to fend for themselves instead of reaching out to others to seek help.

In an article titled “Why Many Men Have a Harder Time Seeking Treatment For Mental Illness” by Leah Campbell, she points out that “Depression and suicide are ranked as a leading death among men, and yet they’re still far less likely to seek mental health treatment than women” (Campbell). I think it is important that men are able to acknowledge that it’s okay to seek help when they know that it is right for them, instead of bottling up their emotions and potentially creating bigger problem for themselves.

Do you think we need to end this stigma in men? Do you think that this is a generational thing and that we should start abolishing these images of what men should be to society?