It’s Men’s Health Week. As well as focusing on men’s physical health, mental health is a big emphasis of this week.
With mental health, the need for early intervention is crucial, and this often happens through public services. But here in Tasmania, School Social Workers, Family Violence Counselling and Support Service staff and Child Safety Workers are all underersourced and underfunded. Further, conventional masculine norms have often stigmatised men who are seeking help (1, 2).
On average, one in eight men will experience depression and one in five men will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives (3).
Tasmanian organisation SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY do wonderful work to promote positive mental health and have a great page with resources, if you know someone who needs help.
Correctional Officers across Australia, including here in Tasmania regularly hold a Movember competition between states to raise funds money for men’s health, with a focus on mental health. It’s also a great way to break down the stigma around seeking help, as well raising much needed money.
As a union we are keen to promote the ways in which Members are helping the wider community by raising funds and awareness. If this is you, let us know! Email communications@tas.cpsu.com.au.
Let’s all work together to break the stigma around seeking help for mental health, and as a union we’ll always push for greater funding for and access to public services that provide help.
1) Gough, B., & Novikova, I. (2020). Mental health, men, and culture: how do sociocultural constructions of masculinities relate to men’s mental health help-seeking behaviour in the WHO European Region?
2) Addis ME, Mahalik J. Men, masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking Am Psychol. 200358(1):5–14 doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.58.15.
3) Australian Bureau of Statistics (2022). Causes of Death, Australia, 2021: Intentional self-harm (suicide). Available at https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/2021.
