Men's mental health

At the university we’ve found that students who are men are sometimes less likely to seek support for their mental health and wellbeing. We’ve held focus groups with our students who are men to try and find out why this is. Our students have told us that this links to the stigma surrounding men’s mental health, with society often telling men to ‘man up’, ‘be strong’ and ‘men don’t cry’, and media outlets creating imaginary perceptions of what men should be. We have also heard from our students that this stigma causes men to ‘bottle up’ their emotions, and to try and deal with any difficulties alone.

It is okay, not to be okay. 

Talking about your mental health is not a sign of weakness.

You don’t need to deal with this alone.

At the university, there is lots of support available and always someone to talk to. You can check out what support you can access here.

Removing the stigma around men's mental health

We all have a part to play in removing this stigma, and one way to do this is by opening up the conversation around men’s mental health. Another way is by encouraging the men in our lives to access support for their mental health if we see that they’re struggling. If you have a friend that you’re worried about and aren’t sure how to approach this, you can check out this page here. There are some fantastic external organisations, such as the ones below, working to removing this stigma and who also offer suport to men.