Bridging the Gap: Destigmatizing Emotions, Depression and Fatherhood.
Unveiling Stigma: A Barrier to Men's Mental Health:
In conversations about mental health, stigma plays a crucial role, especially when it comes to men seeking help. Overlooking mental health challenges in males is a deeply ingrained societal habit. In society, vulnerability is often seen as a sign of weakness creating an environment where men are hesitant to address their mental well-being. There are different forms of stigma associated with the mental health of men, one of them being societal expectations and masculine norms. It refers to societal rules and expected behavior related to manhood in a specific culture. Traditional norms and toxic masculinity are closely related to the dominance of men in society, aggression, and restriction to express emotions such as crying. This may result in self-stigmatization, where individuals begin to internally feel shame about their mental health struggles. This can further cause mental disorders and illnesses going undiagnosed and untreated leading to extreme emotional and psychological distress in men due to the reluctance in seeking help.
Social stigma refers to the negative attitudes toward and disapproval of a person or group experiencing mental health illness rooted in the misperception that symptoms of mental illness are based on a person having a weak character. (Chatmon BN 2020). Individuals feel a fear of judgment, discrimination, avoidance, and rejection which is a major barrier preventing men from seeking help. Cultural stigma further adds another hurdle, shaping the perspective through which mental health is perceived in specific communities. The norms and stereotypes created by society about how a man should behave and act are the root of this problem. Exploring the multifaceted aspects of stigma, it becomes evident that dismantling these barriers is necessary to unlock a healthier and more supportive environment for men to address their mental health openly.
A Silent Battle: Depression in Men:
Behind the stoic façade often displayed by men, sometimes there may exist a silent battle against depression, which is often misunderstood and overlooked. Statistics reveal the magnitude of this mental health crisis among men. Annually, six million men in the United States find themselves struggling with depression, which affects their daily lives, relationships, and overall well-being. Something even more alarming is the stark reality of suicide rates among men, with 79% of deaths by suicide in the United States attributed to males (Mental Health America [MHA], 2020).
This number highlights the severity of untreated mental health issues in men, emphasizing the urgent need for a change in societal attitudes. Depression not only impacts the emotional health of men but also contributes to other issues such as substance abuse. Men are also two to three times more likely to misuse drugs than women (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2017) this may reinforce the notion that men are less likely to seek help but instead more likely to turn to dangerous, unhealthy behaviors. Depression may have a severe detrimental impact on their psychological health leading to a decline in their overall mental well-being. This can further manifest in the form of strained relationships, inefficient work performance, increased anxiety, and difficulty coping with daily challenges.
Fatherhood: navigating the emotional terrains:
Fatherhood is one of the most enriching experiences in an individual’s life however, when talking about men's mental health, struggles related to fatherhood and parenting seldom find the spotlight. In this section, we’re going to explore all the highs and lows a new dad goes through while figuring out their new role as a dad and building their relationship with their child. Apart from the joys of fatherhood, there are a few things that can cause emotional setbacks to a new dad, and this blog shall explore some of them.
A new dad has a lot to figure out, an identity shift, balancing their relationship, figuring out parenting styles, all of this paired up with the excitement of having a baby, bonding with the child, and working as a team with their partner. Clearly, a lot is going on within a father’s mind which can show up overwhelmingly in their mental health resulting in many emotional conflicts.
Anticipatory anxiety in Fathers:
One of the most commonly found is anticipatory anxiety: when a new or expecting father anticipates certain future events that cause worry, fear or some nervousness. It is often associated with anticipating responsibilities. This type of anxiety usually peaks before the birth of a child and can continue in the first few months after having the baby.
To state a few sources that cause anticipatory anxiety: Role expectation is one of the biggest contributors to anxiety related to fatherhood, it accounts for the fear of not being a good father or not knowing how to handle certain situations that may be new to the father which may also lead them into making mistakes. It is seen that when partners effectively communicate and share expectations, the burden is reduced resulting in overcoming anticipatory anxiety. This type of anxiety is likely to reduce with time, as the baby grows up, it is largely about the newness associated with parenting. Another major driving source of anxiety in fathers is the financial worry, the financial commitments that come with raising a child and the societal expectations on a man to be the ‘provider’ and ‘breadwinner’ of the house lead to an increased nervousness about managing the expenses of the household. Apart from this, societal expectations also demand a father to be stoic and tough in their approach to parenting which can create a conflict and even have the father suppress certain emotions that are meant to be felt, communicated and expressed. It is equally important for a father to be emotionally expressive, not just to be a functional parent but for their overall well-being as well. It is not necessary to conform to absolute societal norms, men can acknowledge emotional vulnerability as a sign of strength and not weakness.
It is important to actively take note of anticipatory anxiety, if it persists disproportionately, it is vital to seek professional help from someone who can help you cope with your fears about the future.
Paternal Postpartum Depression:
Another important and less-known aspect of fatherhood is Postpartum Depression in Men, it is often perceived as something that only new mothers go through. Studies show us that 1 in 10 new dads are likely to undergo paternal postpartum depression. While its prevalence in women is more, men also go through this and in this case, due to lack of awareness and stigma associated with men’s mental health, it can go severely underreported. Some researchers believe that it may have a higher prevalence but due to constraints on men’s mental health and other factors like the norm of masculinity and fear of vulnerability of emotions, a lot of men are likely to either not report how they feel or be unable to recognize and label their feelings associated with paternal postpartum depression. A key difference found between postpartum depression in men compared to women was that: women usually go through this during the first few weeks and months while men are likely to go through this during the third to sixth month of the postpartum period.
So what is paternal postpartum depression (PPD)? It is a condition where fathers experience symptoms of depression after the birth of their child. Symptoms include- sadness and hopelessness, irritability, a significant increase or decrease in appetite, persistent fatigue, and loss of interest in pleasurable activities. A key difference between how PPD symptoms are experienced by men from women is that men show an increase in violent and angry outbursts thereby displacing their emotions and also try to sublimate their feelings and impulses by channeling more into work, a lot of fathers experiencing PPD reported increased work hours. They’re also more at risk of alcohol and substance abuse compared to women.
Research shows that depression in fathers is associated with a higher risk of behavioral problems in children as well as a predisposition to mental health issues.
Now that we understand what paternal postpartum depression is, let us understand the major causes of PPD in men: Hormones, particularly the decline in testosterone levels of men after their partner gives birth to the child are shown to have an effect on PPD in men; the Partner’s depression, up to half the men who’s partners were suffering from depression reported experiencing PPD; sleep deprivation while seeming like a minor adjustment issue, it really isn't, not being able to sleep properly and timely can result in an imbalance of bodily functions and secretion of many neurotransmitters and hormones that contribute to PPD; lastly if the father isn’t able to psychological cope and adjust with new arrangements and roles, it can contribute to this condition.
It is important to acknowledge that postpartum depression is very real and both men and women can go through it, it is necessary to create a network of social support for new parents to make sure they do not feel alone in this transition to parenthood. When experiencing symptoms, it is vital to seek professional help- Counselling, couples therapy and medication if required are a few treatments used to treat PPD. As we read, depression in parents can affect the well-being of a child which is why it is more important to work on it, with effective treatment and support the condition can be managed and overcome. Our healthcare plans should advocate postpartum mental health and at the same time, make it more inclusive, not just mothers but new fathers should also be screened for mental illnesses and mental health in order to plan timely interventions and promote an all-rounded well-being for all.
Conclusion:
Lastly, we urge everyone to have more conversations about mental health, break more societal barriers that promote toxic masculinity and recognize that being in touch with one’s emotions can do good. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness. Mental well-being is for all, men are no exception. Men’s Mental health Matters, not just a month, but every day. To all the men reading this blog, you matter and you’re important to us!
References :
Baldwin, S., Malone, M., Sandall, J., & Bick, D. (2018, November). Mental health and wellbeing during the transition to Fatherhood: A systematic review of first time fathers’ experiences. JBI database of systematic reviews and implementation reports. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6259734/
Males and mental health stigma - benita N. chatmon, 2020 - sage journals. (n.d.). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1557988320949322
Latalova, K., Kamaradova, D., & Prasko, J. (2014, July 29). Perspectives on perceived stigma and self-stigma in adult male patient: NDT. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S54081
Men’s Mental Health: Fatherhood and psychotherapy - svend aage madsen, 2009. (n.d.-b). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3149/jms.1701.15
Scarff J. R. (2019). Postpartum Depression in Men. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, 16(5-6), 11–14.
1 in 10 dads experience postpartum depression, anxiety: How to spot the signs | Your Pregnancy Matters | UT Southwestern Medical Center. (n.d.). https://utswmed.org/medblog/paternal-postpartum-depression/
Walsh, T. B., Davis, R. N., & Garfield, C. F. (2020). A call to action: Screening fathers for perinatal depression. Pediatrics, 145(1). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-1193
About the Authors:
1. Anaika Desai,
Member, PsyCreative column
Psychology committee, SDSOS, NMIMS.
Anaika is currently 19 years old and studying applied psychology. She believes a little kindness does the right magic. She is very inquisitive, picks up new hobbies occasionally, loves petting cats, and puts all her love in a batter and bakes it into beautiful cakes. She organises her thoughts on a piece of paper and calls it spending quality time with herself. She hopes one day the world will win through love and kindness, till then she will keep doing her part. She has a warrior spirit and will rise above the hurdles life puts her through, at her own pace though. She aspires to see herself as a psychologist one day and for that, she works on herself every day a little bit.
2. Vrisha Jhaveri
Member at Psycreative Column
First-year student, B.Sc.Applied Psychology, SDSOS, NMIMS.
You can feel Vrisha's presence more on paper than in person. She's often lost in thought and uses her creativity to pen them down as a way to express her opinions and feelings. She's an avid reader and passionate about poetry and art. One of her biggest dreams is to have her work published for the world to read. She pours her heart into writing and knows it's a part of her no one can take away. She is studying BSc Psychology with it being one of her favorite subjects.
Comments
Post a Comment