By Callum Ludwig
A number of local community groups have supported the Movember fundraising effort, with members of the Warburton-Millgrove Football Club, Wesburn-Millgrove CFA, Wandin North Primary School and Lilydale Football Club all participating, among other local residents around the Yarra Ranges.
The campaign has now come to an end but it’s important to keep men’s mental health in mind, as revealed by new data from surveys done by Movember.
Founder of local men’s mental health service in Mooroolbark Build a Brotherhood, Peta Bobbine, said there aren’t enough safe places men can go to for support that are face to face.
“Movember isn’t enough. 75 per cent of suicides are men. Mental health needs to be in our schools and education around our mental health, teaching young men how to reach out, look for the signs of not doing well and how to communicate this to those around them,” she said.
“Movember helps because it makes our society think and talk about the issue. We need to talk to our young boys, our sons and tell them it’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay to talk. It’s okay not to have the answers. It’s normal to struggle and at times not know what to do. It also helps of as adults we can be honest with our kids and tell them times that we struggled and how we managed. How life is hard but with good support around you, you can get through anything. That there is no such thing as failing, just learning and growth.”
Movember’s survey has indicated that 39 per cent of young Aussie men feel they have no one they can really count on, 38 per cent have not reached out for help or support when struggling with their mental health, 54 per cent of young Australian men feel pressure around being a man, and two-thirds (66 per cent) feel society doesn’t understand young men.
Ms Bobbine said a lot of men have said they feel that if they celebrate being a man they will be called things like a misogynist among other things.
“Everyone else is celebrated and appreciated whereas things like international Men’s Day is not spoken about or advertised anywhere. Men have said when they talk about the way they feel people dismiss what they’re saying or tell them to ‘man up,” she said
“Misandry is being normalised whereas misogyny is not. People are fighting for equality yet they’re doing this by putting men down.”
The survey also found four in five (81 per cent) young Aussie men feel that the current media focus on the impact of masculinity on men’s wellbeing was an important one.
Movember’s Director of Mental Health Training Dr Zac Seidler said it is heartbreaking to see that so many young men don’t feel like they have anyone they can count on and that they feel pressured about being a man.
“While Movember has achieved a lot in our 19 years, we know there’s more work to be done to help change the face of men’s health. The findings highlight that as a society, we need to think differently about men and make them part of the conversation,” he said.
“The passive attitude that this is ‘just how it is’ and that ‘this is all there is’ needs to change. Policymakers, the media, and health professionals need to ask more questions to the next generation of men on what they need and how they feel, in order to make young men feel valued and understood, to ultimately help save lives.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ cause of death records, suicide is the leading cause of death in men aged 15-54 in Australia and men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women, with over six men dying by suicide every day.
Movember’s APAC Country Director Rachel Carr said although the month has ended, donations are still welcome to continue helping our brothers, sons and fathers all year round.
“As we know suicide is the leading cause of death for young men in Australia, losing on average six men a day. It’s unnerving to see so many young men struggling, and feeling pressure about where to turn for help,” she said.
Donations can be made at www.movember.com or via the Movember app.
