Feeling trapped between a traditional masculinity and a progressive one can contribute to depression and suicide in men.
Despite strong national efforts, completed suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. According to the CDC, in 2010 there were 38,364 suicides in 2010 in the United States, a daily average of 105 each day.
Furthermore, these statistics are thought to under-exaggerate the total number of completed suicides as the data can be difficult to gather and this behavior often goes unreported.
Adolescent suicidal behavior has received the bulk of scholastic and media attention because suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24. However, the New York Times reported significant increases in suicidal behavior among middle-aged individuals, in particular middle-aged men: specifically completed suicides by persons aged 35-64 increased by nearly 30% from 1999-2010.
The gendered nature of suicide has been well documented with males being three to four times more likely than females to die by suicide. Men’s use of fire arms, tendency to stuff emotions, and low likelihood of seeking help are a few of the variables listed as responsible for the contrast in suicide rates between men and women.
But how do we account for the significant rise in suicide among middle aged men?
The New York Times article listed several possibilities for this trend including access to fatal drugs and the impact of the current economy, one of the consequences of this being higher unemployment rates. Furthermore, this generation may feel financially and emotionally burdened by the task of taking care of their parents or older family members while ensuring their own financial stability.
Depression and anxiety are often at the center of suicidal thoughts, and research by Samaritans, a U.K. charity which aims to lower the number of suicides, revealed that middle aged men who experience divorce or relationship separation, unemployment, and poverty are more likely to experience depression and consider suicide.
The researchers add that these individuals may also feel stuck between traditional masculinity, with its focus on emotional stoicism, and the more recent and progressive gender politics of expressing emotions openly.
Finally, they report that the ineffectiveness of some approaches in curbing suicide lies in the lack of a strong social conversation on the role of inequality in suicidal behavior. Men with low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely than more affluent males to complete suicide; therefore, any approach for reducing the prevalence of this behavior must also include an analysis of the impact of poverty. This begs the question: how can suicide rates be lowered in a declining economy with such differing opinions of masculinity? What is in our power to do to help lower suicide rates among men of all ages?
Photo: ChrisHConnelly/Flickr
Read more:
New Study: Male Suicide at All Time High
7 Types of Self-Care to Help Prevent and Heal Depression
We’ve Got To Learn To Talk About Men
It’s no wonder some men take this drastic step because, increasingly, men are seen as disposable by society. Plus, men are more reliant on their families and signficant other as their social network so divorce impacts them much more than women who typically have a more established network of girlfriends to fall back on. I am a divorced man in his 40s with a preteen who lives mostly with me. I have reached the conclusion that the best thing men can do is drop out. For me that means: 1) Working enough to meet my financial needs and my child’s… Read more »
There could be specific generational or historical factors, not just about current events and not just about some nebulous “traditional roles.” Men who are in their 50’s today are not just middle-aged men. You can also understand them as men from a very specific context. They were born in the 1960’s and grew up in the specific context of the 1970’s, spent their 20’s during the 1980’s, graduated from the educational system of the 80’s, raised by “The Greatest Generation,” too young to be Baby Boomers, too old to be Generation X, etc. I think many of them are caught… Read more »
” revealed that middle aged men who experience divorce or relationship separation, unemployment, and poverty are more likely to experience depression and consider suicide.”
Its likely that the connection to divorce and relationship separation is more than simply divorce and relationship separation, its more likely when abusive personalities are using children, child support and divorce to destroy or callously relegate their their ex partner to an atm facility, imo.
“Traditional Gender Expectations May Contribute to Rising Suicide Rates in Men”- anything might…
Men’s use of fire arms, tendency to stuff emotions, and low likelihood of seeking help are a few of the variables listed as responsible for the contrast in suicide rates between men and women. _____________________________________________- Loss of jobs and income, humiliation in a society that no longer values men and and a sense of being disposable also contribute to this terrible problem. I know two deeply depressed men well – long-time friends – and I’m certain this article would only rub salt in the wound. The idea that the suffering men are entirely responsible for their own pain is taking… Read more »
I HATE (yes i used caps) when people use “low likelihood of seeking help” as a reason for men’s problems in anything. It is a flat out excuse for not helping. It falls back on a few things: 1) men are responsible for themselves, positive or negative, and the others around them. It is viewed as, he won’t seek help, never if not rarely, needs help, he might not know where to go or what to do, or the options available. 2) A cause of #1, society states we should not care about and respect all men, but only those… Read more »
Agreed JTCC – These men are still lectured for being too masculine even when they are dead. That really is shameless, even by today’s standards. All of reality is forced into the straitjacket of political correctness and the madness of the age we live in.
Sorry, but where exactly does the article blame men for their pain/ their problems? I have the impression that it is a really good article as it does exactly what you are asking for, by drawing attention to the neglected problem of male suicide. It doesn’t delve very deeply into possible reasons though. But it seems to me that author’s intention was to open up a conversation no the subject.