Movember Beyond the Mustache
Movember Beyond the Mustache
I've been committed to supporting women going through Depression and Post-Natal and Ante-Natal Depression (PND and AND respectively) for a while now. This is in part because I myself have struggled with depression since an early age, but also because I do believe that as a society we must step up our game when it comes to mental health.
However, it wasn’t until recently that I have really started thinking about men’s mental health and how they can cope with the stress, burdens, issues and chaos of today’s world, and it started when I realized that most of my clients who had gone through PND or AND had husbands or partners who were now (when the moms had recovered) showing signs of the depression and anxiety.
In preparation for my part at the First Movember event here in Qatar, I decided to read a bit more about statistics and the significance of this movement. Yes, I knew about the whole prostate and testicular cancer part, but what else did it stand for? That’s when I got my big surprise.
For example, in the UK 3 out of 4 deaths by suicide are men; in Australia suicide is the biggest killer of men 35 years and younger; and on average, 87 men each day commit suicide in the US. If these numbers aren’t worrisome enough, we can also say that worldwide the rates of suicides have increased in the past years. The trend shows a big problem.
What happens to a society when the ones that should protect families aren’t getting the support they need to play their part?
And please, don’t see this as an attack on the importance of women or mothers, because this is not it. I’m not advocating for one or the other. I’m just looking for a way to open the dialogue about how are we, the families, the societies, the countries, forgetting to allow our men to express themselves, to show emotions, to be real and vulnerable, to be.
I talk SO much about women’s right and the importance to empower mothers in all aspects so they can take care of their families. But what about men? What about empowering fathers too? Can we start a conversation where all sides benefit?
Since reading these numbers, talking to friends and working more on reading between the lines, I’m recognizing more and more amazing men around me who are struggling, who aren’t coping well with stress and life, who are undernourished and depleted, who can’t handle it… and that scares me to the core.
As the mom of a little boy (and another one arriving soon) I’m suddenly realizing how important it is to validate his feelings and emotions, to support him in expressing himself however and whenever he wants, to shush my inner cultural bias and allow him to be, do and feel as he wants always. This is how we start an equal society. This is how I hope to push a change in stereotypes.
Funny how it took a men-focused celebration to help me be a better mom and women’s right advocate!
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