The societal expectations on how men should express their emotions have affected men's mental health for a long time. Society views women as sensitive human beings, and they are allowed to express their feelings. At the same time, men are expected to be strong, and society does not expect them to show their emotions outwardly. While statistics reveal that women are likely to encounter depression more than men, it does not negate that men also get depression (American Journal of psychology, 2020). Women have an easier time managing mental issues due to depression than men as they show their emotions outwardly. The effect of hidden emotions among men is the rapid growth of mental disorders characterized by anxiety and depression. When the cases of mental health and depression increase, there is the likelihood of men committing suicide. Researches reveal that all over the world, men hide depression following the traditional male stereotypes and decreasing the male life expectancy since men do not share most of their problems (Moron, 2005). Men's mental health is at risk because society is not keen to understand that men are emotional. After all, there is an increased risk of having an ineffective men generation struggling with mental health, depression, and suicide.
The creation of a depressed men society is caused by society's blindness to the emotional issues that affect men. Since men are expected not to show their emotions in public, they will be regarded as weak and depressed. Henry Montero, a psychologist, denotes that men suffer from depression which they do not share (2018). He also asserts that most clients he has met are willing to talk about the issues that affect them more easily. Montero interestingly observes that men cannot verbalize their depression. The failure to verbalize is not due to poor communication skills but rather due to how society will perceive them. Research by Mental America shows that more than six million American men suffer from depression contributing to the fear of expression. The depression figures are serious since other study involving American boys revealed that the depression rate rose from 4.3% to 5.7% (Montero, 2018). The trend of having boys falling into depression shows how much men are suffering from depression at the expense of a society that does not notice. If the young men generation is affected by depression, developing a productive community is minimal.
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Society's standards on how men should express their emotions compared to women lead to the development of toxic masculinity that is hard to deal with once it develops. The American Psychological Association notes that toxic masculinity is cultivated from the younger years of development of men (2020). Besides, toxic masculinity affects mentally unstable individuals following things said to them or societal beliefs. In many societies, boys are taught 'how to be men, ' which are teachings that emphasize men being able to endure everything that comes their way (American Psychological Association, 2020). According to society, when boys grow to maturity, they already have fixed minds on what is expected of them. The boys may then act in ways that prove toxic masculinity, and it is hard to revert such individuals to everyday life. Men possessing harmful masculinity traits have problems with their mental health, and they believe that they are okay even when they are not. When society has men with high levels of toxic masculinity, there is an increased number of failed marriages. The failed marriages occur due to emotional instability and the failure to handle matters amicably.
The view by society that men are not supposed to express their feeling like women has mental effects on men, leading to physical stress. A research carried out by the American Journal of Social Science and Medicine indicated that men have a higher risk of suffering from chronic conditions than women (Courtenay, 2000). Physical health is a direct reflection of mental health. In most cases, individuals who have perfect mental health status hardly have effects on the physical health. Men suffer from the conditions while trying to express the masculinity that society expects them to communicate. According to the health-belief theory, individuals are affected mentally and physically by what they believe. The pressure by the community that men ought to be strong and not express their emotions like women affects men's give the men a belief that turns a ruin to physical health (Courtenay, 2000). The standards set by society expect a lot from many in terms of emotional management while failing to offer emotional support to men who struggle secretly with emotional imbalance as a result of the set standards. If the society has a mentally and physically unstable population of men, then the productivity and development of such a community are limited.
An inexpressive society develops out of a community that believes that men are not supposed to express their emotions in the same way as women. Society creates a gap in gender equality due to men being left out when it comes to expressing their feelings. Traditional masculinity and community expectations bring about feelings of discrimination which affect mental health. According to Edwards, the social construction of gender approaches to handle emotions brings the divisions of masculinity and feminism, placing men above women to manage emotions and all aspects of life (2015). The system of gender management of emotions based on division is wrong. It does not offer the logistics of stress management or the biological aspect that proves that men are better positioned to handle emotions than females. The subsequent effects of such divisions based on gender are increased emotional disturbance, creating the impression of a strong emotionally balancing gender of male individuals struggling in the real sense (Edwards, 2015). Gender divisions on emotional management ore conspiracies and do not serve to study dynamic management by males and females.
Men suffer from the difficulty in experiencing the positivity of life due to poor mental health caused by the standards set by society on how men should handle emotions. Mental health is essential in ensuring that an individual focus more on the positivity of life other than the opposing side. Two kinds of research were carried out to investigate the effects of mental health regarding emotional intelligence and the subsequent result of the positivity of life. 50% and 79% were used interrogated, filing emotional intelligence questionnaires (Moron, 2000). All the studies revealed that emotional intelligence was directly related to the positivity of life. Most of the women in the research had a higher positivity of life. While the results and the aim of the experiments were not to compare men and women in terms of handling emotions and the results to their perception of life, one can note that the emotional stability enjoyed by women played an essential role in the high rates of the positivity of life. Individuals overcome by emotions are not in an excellent position to view life from a positive view due to depression and lack of focus.
Men experience adverse mental health conditions that sometimes result in suicidal thoughts and actual suicide due to a lack of expression of emotions. As earlier mentioned, society has created a notion in men that they should be more robust and not express their feelings in ways that will show that they are weak. Mean therefore tend to stay with the issues affecting them emotionally. When the problems get out of hand, emotions cannot be sustained anymore, suicidal thoughts come along, and death results. The data obtained from the US National Comorbidity Survey Replication, psychiatric disorders, and adverse childhood events contributed to the likelihood of an individual having suicidal thoughts (Afifi et al. 2008). The research results showed that approximately 16 to 50% of women and 21 to 32% of men had experienced suicidal thoughts following adverse childhood events (Afifi et al. 2008). The research explains why a society that sets high standards for men to express their emotions differently would lose the generation to suicide. In the study, there were proportions of poor mental outcomes that led to suicide and suicidal thoughts. Having a community with set standards for men means that men will suffer silently and, in adverse cases, end up killing themselves due to mental instability.
The expectation to express emotions differently for men by society has detrimental effects on increased aggression cases. The failure to express emotions leads to a built form of aggression as individuals lack ways to express their emotions, ending up settling for immediate forms of violence. Research shows that women are at a high chance of internalizing various emotions that may cause mental health disturbance (Rosenfield & Mouzon, 2012). On the other hand, men externalize the problems and resort to other forms of relieving anxiety, stress, and depression, such as taking alcohol and another form of substance abuse (Rosenfield & Mouzon, 2012). The use of substances to relieve stress is short-lived and leaves the individuals in the same state. The research went further to investigate the relationship between gender and mental health. Results showed that masculinity and femininity have roles to play on the levels of aggression of an individual and how they synthesize depression. Since women express their emotions, internalization is easy and, therefore, easy management. the society that has taught men to be strong and not express their feelings openly has men being more aggressive to relieve the stress (Rosenfield & Mouzon, 2020). While some may argue that gender and class play a role in how violence relates to mental health, neglecting men emotions is a cause of aggression and violence.
Conclusively, Men's mental health is at risk because society is not keen to understand that men are emotional. After all, there is an increased risk of having an ineffective men generation struggling with mental health, depression and suicide. The numerous researches carried out indicate that women are better managers of emotions than men. Men have been affected by toxic masculinity that requires them to be stronger. The results of unchecked men's mental health affect the same community that ignores emotional expression disorders in men. The success of communities will depend on how much the communities are willing to treat the emotional expression in men. The traditional approach of men being stronger individuals should be avoided, and men viewed like human beings other than from the conventional gender perspective.
References
Afifi, T. O., Enns, M. W., Cox, B. J., Asmundson, G. J., Stein, M. B., & Sareen, J. (2008). Population attributable fractions of psychiatric disorders and suicide ideation and attempts associated with adverse childhood experiences. American Journal of Public Health, 98 (5), 946-952. doi:10.2105/ajph.2007.120253
American Journal of Psychology. (2020). Speaking of psychology: How masculinity can hurt mental health. Retrieved April 30, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/men-boys-health-disparities
Courtenay, W. (2000). Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being: A theory of gender and health. Social Science & Medicine, 50 (10), 1385-1401. doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(99)00390-1
Edwards, A. (2015, March 29). It's a Man's world: The effect of traditional masculinity on gender equality. Retrieved April 30, 2021, from https://www.e-ir.info/2015/03/29/its-a-mans-world-the-effect-of-traditional-masculinity-on-gender-equality/
Montero, H. (2018, December 05). Depression in men: The cycle of toxic masculinity. Retrieved April 30, 2021, from https://www.psycom.net/depression-in-men/depression-in-men-toxic-masculinity/
Moroń, M. (2000, January 01). Perceived emotional intelligence and life satisfaction: The mediating role of the positivity ratio. Retrieved April 30, 2021, from http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12128/5888
Rosenfield, S., & Mouzon, D. (2012). Gender and mental health. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research, 277-296. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_14
