Why so many young men dey struggle wit mental health, and no dey ask for help?

BBC News

13 hours ago

For recent years, di world don wake up to a growing youth mental health problem, and one group dey particularly vulnerable: boys and young men.
Decades of research don establishe say men dey less likely dan women to seek support for dia mental health – 40% less likely, one 2023 US study find.
But we still sabi little about how – or wen – teenage boys and young men ask for help.
"Dis dey cause worry," a 2024 review for di European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry journal, "as adolescent boys and young men get high suicide rates but a low take-up of services."
Wetin dey drive dis disconnect – and how schools, parents and policymakers fit step in to help?
Suffer in silence
Globally, one in seven adolescents between di ages of 10 and 19 experience a mental disorder, according to World Health (WHO) research last year.
E find say depression, anxiety, and behavioural conditions na di most common disorders, and suicide remains di third leading cause of death among dose wey dey age 15–29.
According to The Lancet Psychiatry Commission, up to 75% of all mental health conditions begin bifor di age of 25, wit di peak onset at just 15 years.
While young pipo dey physically healthier dan eva, mentally dem dey struggle, and di numbers dey rise, making dis "a dangerous phase" for youth mental health.
Yet despite di need, many boys and young men no dey use di mental health services available.
"Ova di last 15 to 20 years, we don see an alarming rise for di prevalence of mental health conditions for both boys and girls, but help-seeking dey much less common among young men," sas Professor Patrick McGorry, psychiatrist and executive director of Orygen - Australia's National Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health tok
Dat stronghead dey sometimes mean say young men dey only reach out wen dem dey for crisis.
Social norms around emotional toughness and self-reliance dey often discourage boys to seek help, sabi pipo tell di BBC, adding dat studies consistently show say boys internalise di message wey say to dey show vulnerability na sign of weakness.
Dr John Ogrodniczuk, a professor of psychiatry for di University of British Columbia in Canada and di director of HeadsUpGuys, a mental health resource for men, explain say many boys still dey equate seeking help wit failure.
"If we tok about masculine socialisation, e get a lot of prescriptions about wetin men gatz do or not do: be stoic, strong, in kontrol, no show any weakness or vulnerability, figure stuff out on your own," e say.
"You fit see how a lot of dis tins serve as barriers to form a connection to your own emotional life and asking for help if you need am."
Dr Ogrodniczuk note say wen support dey tailored to men – for tone, language and approach – engagement dey increase.
Informal approach
Recent research don identify several oda themes beside di social norms and di stigma of showing weakness wey dey shape how boys view mental health support.
Many boys no recognise dia symptoms or sabi how to seek help, and dem often no feel comfortable for formal clinical settings.
Boys and young men dey often prefer informal help, like conversations wit friends, or anonymous, online support, and male-friendly messaging wey aligns help-seeking wit strength, responsibility and action get more impact.
Dis don lead to some youth services ditching traditional clinical models. For Australia, for instance, di youth mental health organisation Orygen co-designed spaces wit young pipo wey dey offer "soft entry" – informal settings wia conversations fit happun.
"Young men fit no dey as amenable to sitting in a consulting room for dia first contact. Dem fit no wan sit down for interview," Orygen executive director Patrick McGorry tok.
"Maybe dem go rada get a more laid-back conversation, while dem dey do sometingelse - like going for a walk or maybe playing a game of pool or table tennis."
Social media: na friend or enemy?
Social media na double-edged sword: e fit connect isolated teens and provide valuable information, but also expose dem to harmful content and toxic ideals of masculinity.
"Di majority of young men now dey connect wit men and masculinity influencer content," according to Dr Simon Rice, clinical psychologist and global director of di Movember Institute of Men Health.
Movember research find say many young men wey dey engage wit "manosphere" content report worse mental health dan dia peers.
But Rice stress say no be all content dey negative, and social media fit also be a useful tool to improve mental health.
"We wan make sure say we fit harness di positive aspects of social media to bring communities togeda, to provide good health and mental health information, while minimising di possibilities for harm."
Howeva, e say dat di working of social media algorithms dey present a serious challenge as dem dey designed to distribute content wey dey more likely to be viral for nature, and e dey hard for positive, health-oriented content to "win di algorithm".
Professor Mina Fazel, Chair of Adolescent Psychiatry for Oxford University, agree say e dey crucial to teach teenagers and parents how social media algorithms work, pointing to soon-to-be-published research wey find say a third of young pipo don see content wey dey related to self-harm on social media for di past month.
But Professor Fazel add say social media alone no dey to blame and broader changes for society fit dey considered as well.
"Family and community structures dey change dramatically, and social media potentially fit play a supportive role for a lot of young pipo," she say.
Loneliness factor
One of di most serious challenges wey dem dey sometimes overlooked na loneliness.
According to a Gallup survey wey dem publish for May, 25% of US men age 15 to 34 say dem don feel lonely for a significant potion of di previous day, higher dan di national average of 18% and di total for young women, also 18%.
Dr Ogrodniczuk say dat di data for HeadsUpGuys show say loneliness and a lack of purpose na two of di most common stressors among young men.
Sabi pipo underline di need to provide safe spaces wia boys fit build friendships and tok openly – no be just for designated therapy sessions, but for everyday interactions.
Dat fit mean mentorship programmes, peer support groups or simply to retink how we tok about mental health for classrooms.
Role of schools
"E get quite a positive trend say wen young boys do seek help, dem dey usually find am helpful," Professor Mina Fazel tok. "E fit no actually matter wia dat help dey deliva: it fit be for school, e fit be for social services, e fit be for di community."
E also get a growing evidence say school culture play a role for boys wellbeing. Academic pressure, particularly in contexts wia boys dey fall behind girls, fit fuel anxiety, frustration and disengagement.
Professor Fazel believe schools need to dey redesigned to work better for boys.
"Di majority of di world children get access to schools," she say, "so maybe dis na di place wia we really need to tink about not only di academic education of children, but a broader offer of wetin e mean to develop as adolescents - especially for boys."