WASHINGTON: There’s a new social media campaign for mental illness and this one is directed at men.
While more women are diagnosed with mental health conditions, men die by suicide at a rate of nearly four times that of women. It is the seventh leading cause of death for American males, while it’s the 14th for females, according to the Centre for Disease Control.
One of the reasons for this “gender paradox of suicidal behaviour” is that men are less likely to seek help for psychological issues for fear of looking weak. Long-held gender roles allow for women to discuss their emotions, but require men to be stoic.
Irish rugby player Luke Ambler is challenging those stereotypes by encouraging men to tweet selfies making the universal gesture for “okay” with their fingers and the hashtag #ITSOKAYTOTALK.
His brother-in-law committed suicide four months ago and his family had no indication of how badly he was struggling. Ambler said he wished his brother-in-law knew it was okay to talk about how he was feeling.
He tweeted the first image of himself holding up the “okay” sign on July 31. He asked others do the same and then tag five friends to get them to do it too.
Throughout August, it’s caught on and hundreds, if not thousands, of people across the globe have shared an okay selfie. Search the hashtag and you’ll find men and women, young and old, and of all races. Even actor Ricky Gervais joined the campaign. It’s another reminder that mental illness does not discriminate.
Ambler also started “Andy’s Man Club”, named for his brother-in-law, that intends to create a safe space for men to gather and talk freely about their feelings with no judgement. If Andy had somewhere to go, if he’d known it was okay to talk about it, he would still be alive, Ambler told the Guardian.
The 26-year-old has a big goal for the campaign: Cut male suicide rates in the UK in half in five years. More than 4 500 of the 6 122 suicides in 2014 were men. In the US, there were 42 773 suicides in 2014, of which more than 33 000 were men.
“I’m urging people that when they’re in a dark place, reach out and look at Andy’s Man Club and see what we can do for you. Try to talk, it’s not weak whatsoever to talk.”
In May, therapist and public speaker Amy Morin wrote in Forbes how the construction industry, one that is still predominately male, has a blueprint for encouraging employees to seek help and supporting them when they do.
In recent years there has been a considerable shift in how people talk about mental health generally.
Ambler’s recent effort is one of many social media campaigns designed to raise awareness and encourage those with a mental health condition to not feel ashamed.