1

Sam Santavicca

Literature Review Portion of Essay 3

The human body is an imperfect machine. Like all machines, sometimes it doesn’t work

properly. Some of these imperfections are noticeable, like a child being born with a genetic

disease that manifests itself physically. Other times, humans can have less noticeable problems

with their bodies or minds. Mental health is something that is not easy to see. Because it is

mainly self-reported, the person suffering must have a clear idea of what is going on in their

head. Realizing that you have a mental health problem takes courage to assess, and even more

courage to seek help. Despite the advances in modern medicine and technology, people,

especially men, have a hard time asking for help. According to the National Center for Health

Statistics, only 40% of men who report feelings of anxiety or depression choose to seek help

(Blumberg, Clarke, Blackwell). These statistics reflect a cultural and societal stigma against

men’s mental health.

Although both men and women can suffer from mental health issues, the diagnostic

criteria tend to skew more towards women. “For example, epidemiologic statistics suggest that

for the majority of mood and anxiety disorders found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders (Task Force on DSM-IV, 2000), women are significantly more likely than men

to meet criteria for a diagnosis” (Addis, Cohane 634). That article also postures a few

possibilities as to why men’s mental health seems to be underreported and underdiagnosed.

Mainly, men are constantly told to “man up” and deal with their problems “like a man”. Men

also have a higher rate of substance abuse and violence than women (Addis, Cohan 634) that
 2

tends to mask deeper mental health problems. Men also tend to believe that they must be

independent of others to be a real man. According to Addis and Cohane, this social deficiency

starts at infancy. “Because the mother is often the primary source from which infants and

toddlers develop a sense of safety and intimacy in interpersonal relationships, this premature

disidentification is assumed to leave many men with severely repressed emotional needs for

intimacy and connection to others” (636). By failing to connect on an emotional level at a young

age, men fail to develop the abilities to empathize, and believe that they can be empathized with,

later in life. This deficiency causes them to fail to understand that asking for help can fix their

problems. Men don’t understand that other people can fix things that they cannot, so they believe

that only they can solve their own problems.

As previously noted, men tend to develop emotional deficiencies at a young age due to

the disconnect they feel with their mothers. This tends to be one of the reasons that men do not

develop empathy as well as women do. Women can bond and learn at a young age with someone

of the same sex. This enables women to identify with someone who they will develop into in the

future. In Denmark, 95% of father attend the births of their children (Madsen 15). This is a

drastic increase from the 1970s, when hospital births were first becoming the norm. Madsen

suggests that men no longer come to the births simply to support their wives, but because they

want to take a more active role in the raising of their children. “While at first these fathers were

present mostly to support their partners, studies show that today they also participate to a large

degree in order to specifically bond with the babies—i.e., to meet their children as fathers, not

merely as “partners” or “relatives”. (Madsen 16). Madsen asserts that this may be the reason for

a decrease in the mental health rates in men and boys across Nordic and Scandinavian countries.

“This evolution is connected to a general development in fatherhood, from the authoritarian

 3

father of the tail end of the last century, through the breadwinner and the “dad,” to the “new

father” of the present day” (Madsen 16). Many European countries allow paternity leave for men

to establish bonds with their children during infancy. “Danish men take an average of three-and-

a-half weeks of paternity leave. Among other Nordic countries the average is even higher, with

fathers in Iceland taking an average of 12 weeks and in Sweden and Norway an average of six

weeks” (Madsen 15). This article makes it clear that when men spend time with their children,

their children have an easier time identifying with the emotions and mental functions that they

are expected to develop. By increasing face time and physical contact between men and their

children, children will learn the proper ways to empathize and develop the ability to rely on

others for help.

According to the Mayo Clinic, men experience depression symptoms in different ways

than women. Both men and women feel tired, hopeless, sad, and lose interest in activities (Mayo

Clinic). Although men can have symptoms similar to those experienced by women, their primary

symptoms tend to be less obvious. The primary symptoms of male depression include escapist

behaviors, substance abuse, and irritability (Mayo Clinic). These symptoms tend to appear more

in men than in women due to the failure to recognize the other main symptoms. “You may not

recognize how much your symptoms affect you, or you may not want to admit to yourself or to

anyone else that you're depressed. But ignoring, suppressing or masking depression with

unhealthy behavior will only worsen the negative emotions” (Mayo Clinic). Because men fail to

recognize that they are experiencing depression, their symptoms will compound into worse

symptoms that lead to more dangerous lifestyles. Men will continue to act out and take larger

risks until someone recognizes their deteriorating mental health. Men will also fail to report their

symptoms because they delegitimize their own experiences. “You may not be open to talking
 4

about your feelings with family or friends, let alone with a doctor or mental health professional.

Like many men, you may have learned to emphasize self-control. You may think it's not manly

to express feelings and emotions associated with depression, and you try to suppress them”

(Mayo Clinic). The cultural and social expectations of men restrict their abilities to report their

own health. It’s easy to recognize a broken arm, but it is hard to notice substance abuse or lack of

interest in activities.

Both men and women suffer from mental health complications. Due to the social and

cultural lifestyles of men and women, men tend to underreport their mental health struggles. Men

tend to fail to identify with emotionally competent adults at a young age, and this causes them to

fail to develop the proper emotional response to health problems. Men seek external sources of

relief such as substance abuse, domestic abuse, and other risky escapist behaviors. To combat

these problems, allowing men to identify with a positive role model at an early age, like the way

more fathers attend births in Denmark, will give them a better representation of how to develop

empathy. Adapting the diagnostic criteria to better fit the ways that men show mental health

problems would also be a good step in solving this issue. By giving men a better and more

comfortable way to address their mental health concerns, we as a society can become more

inclusive and tolerant of other people’s problems.

Works Cited
 5

Blumberg, S. J., & Blackwell, D. L. (2015, November 6). Products - Data Briefs - Number 206 -

June 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2019, from

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db206.htm.

Addis, M. E., & Cohane, G. H. (2005, June). Social scientific paradigms of masculinity and their

implications for research and practice in men's mental health. Retrieved November 10, 2019,

from

http://rt4rf9qn2y.search.serialssolutions.com/?id=doi:10.1002/jclp.20099&sid=wiley&iuid=3141

461&date=2005&jtitle=Journal of Clinical Psychology&volume=61&atitle=Social scientific

paradigms of masculinity and their implications for research and practice in men's mental

health&genre=article&spage=633&issue=6&title=Journal of Clinical Psychology&issn=0021-

9762&epage=647.

Madsen, S. A. (2009, January). Men's Mental Health: Fatherhood and Psychotherapy - Svend

Aage Madsen, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2019, from

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3149/jms.1701.15.

Behaviors in men that could be signs of depression. (2019, May 21). Retrieved November 10,

2019, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/male-

depression/art-20046216.