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Men's Mental Health
(Trigger warning: mention of suicide)
This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 13th – 19th May, and while the mental health of one demographic is no more important than any other, we are pleased to see that men’s mental health is receiving more attention now than ever before. With suicide as the leading cause of death in men under 50 in the UK, and when 4 in every 5 suicides are by men, there is still a lot of work to be done. Mental Health UK puts it like this; ‘Due to societal expectations of masculinity, men are less likely to talk to others about their feelings, so they suffer in silence.’ This is why organisations and charities such as Men’s Sheds Association, Movember and MANUP? are so important in order to help raise awareness and raise money to fund projects that help men’s mental health and improve outcomes for those who are suffering. We explored these three organisations a little more to give you an insight into the world of men’s mental health, and what’s being done about it.
The team at WARCO has had an increasing involvement over the years with the Men’s Sheds Association. We regularly supply metalworking machines and accessories to Sheds all over the UK - some are purchased by the sheds, some are provided by Warco free of charge. These sheds (not always sheds – it could be an empty office space, warehouse or disused outbuilding), are hubs for connection, conversation and creation. It’s a place to get hands-on with all kinds of tools, making and repairing, while chatting about everything from the weather and football to deeper topics like grief and loneliness. Friendships are built, skills and knowledge are shared, and we have it on good authority that there are many opportunities for laughter.
Movember - most well-known for its innovative approach to growing a ‘tache in November for men’s health awareness – is considered to be the leading charity when it comes to changing the face of men’s health. While they have hugely successful campaigns and projects supporting both prostate and testicular cancer, their number one priority is mental health and suicide prevention. They have funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world since 2003, including The Social Innovators Challenge (which funds creative programmes aimed at restoring and strengthening the social connections of men) and the Men’s Pie Club (semi-self-explanatory!) to name a couple.
MANUP? began in 2019 when founder Dan Somers wanted to hold an event to raise awareness of men’s mental health. His challenge was to find 1000 men to raise their hands up for a photo to say ‘having mental health issues is OK’. The event didn’t turn out quite as he hoped, but during the COVID pandemic, MANUP? progressed into something much bigger, providing a valuable communications platform via regular events, video, podcast and social media to help show men that the term ‘MAN UP’ as we know it, needs to be challenged. Men shouldn’t be expected to just brush themselves down and ‘get on with it’ after or during life’s challenges. Talking about problems needed to be normalised, and MANUP? is doing a great job of that.
Warco believe passionately in encouraging men of all ages to reject the stigma associated with talking about emotions. We hope that in some ways, our products help enable metalworking and model engineer hobbyists to embrace a hobby they enjoy, a pastime that brings with it such an enormous sense of satisfaction, along with an opportunity to join others who share similar interests. To this end, we actively encourage you to embrace your hobby, and, who knows, why not see if there’s a local Mens Shed, or model club worth joining? We are social creatures who love to create things and solve problems together – and in that, Warco supports you every step of the way.
Useful links:
If you're looking for your local Men's Shed, please visit www.findashed.org.uk.
Movember has a very handy ‘5 Things You Should Know’ for all men to look out for here: https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/general
Help normalise men talking about their feelings by wearing some MANUP? merchandise? https://www.manup.how/merch
If you need help now, call The Samaritans on: 116 123
