The month of November can mean many different things: no shave November, Thanksgiving, a much needed fall break for Clemson students. But perhaps most importantly, it means a month for men’s mental health awareness.
Despite how prevalent mental health awareness is in our current society — with many months and weeks devoted to suicide prevention — men’s mental health is often overlooked. “A quarter of men will have an anxiety disorder during their lifetime … and men are much less likely than women to seek care for mental health issues,” according to the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
A harmful stigma has been created around men’s mental health due to the idea that men cannot be the strong figures society asks them to be, while also being allowed to seek help. In fact, the CDC reports that, “the suicide rate among males in 2020 was 4 times higher than the rate among females.” This is where November, or “Movember,” comes in.
Movember is an organization that raises awareness and support for men’s physical and mental health issues. Movember’s target issues range from prostate cancer to suicide prevention. Men are encouraged to grow mustaches, or participate in other fundraisers, throughout November in order to support these various causes.
One of the challenges is called “Move for Movember.” Those involved walk or run 60 miles in memory of the 60 men lost to suicide every hour.
Movember’s website also provides resources for men including ALEC, a simple acronym telling people how to “reach out” in four steps: ask how someone is feeling, listen to what they may be going through, encourage them to take healthy action and check in with them later.
As November comes to a close and we move forward into December, it is important to keep this in mind and remember the mental health resources that Clemson’s campus provides.
The Counseling and Psychological Services offers many programs, including Therapy Assistance Online, support groups and individual therapy. Clemson also has a suicide prevention organization called Tigers Together.
Sometimes the most important thing to someone struggling is a listening ear. Make sure to reach out to those close to you and check in, especially around the holidays. Even the strongest person can be shouldering something heavy.
While November may be over, mental health awareness is always an issue worth fighting for.