COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Depression and suicide are ranked as one of the leading causes of death among men, according to the National Institutes of Health. Experts say 6 million men suffer from depression each year.
Historically, the mandate for men who are struggling is to "man up."
Counseling Psychologist Dr. Charlotte Michelle Sanchez dropped by WRBL News 3 for her annual "Mental Health Mondays" to explain why the "man up" mentality can be an unhealthy mindset among men.
Michelle Sanchez says that it all begins in the childhood stage.
"With young girls, if they fall down, they skin their knee we say, 'aww are you OK?' we pick them up, we rock them. When little boys fall down, we say 'get up, stop crying, you'll be OK' and that just transitions into teenage boys, that transitions into men to teach them that you're supposed to be tough you're not supposed to show your emotions."
Michelle Sanchez says those bottled-up emotions can come out during the time of depression and anxiety, especially when individuals hold things in and don't have any form to talk about it.
"It's just very unhealthy," she expressed. "Even when we look at our military, military men are supposed to be strong, women also. But we still have that stigma with men and men will often tell me in the office when I work with veterans that in the military, we don't talk about mental health, even though there is a bigger view of that now they're still told, 'you're malingering, you gotta be tough.'"
Michelle Sanchez encourages all men to seek mental health treatment, if needed, as everybody should have someone to talk to. She also says that society needs to have a new way of thinking in terms of what's healthy and what's not.
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