Men, Capitulation to Distress, and GP Visits…

Tedstone Doherty, D., & Kartalova-O’Doherty, Y. (2010). Gender and self-reported mental health problems: Predictors of help seeking from a general practitioner British Journal of Health Psychology, 15 (1), 213-228 DOI: 10.1348/135910709X457423

When we say that women tend to report mental health problems more often than men do, we assume that there is a positive value attached to reporting, and a negative value attached to not reporting (Tedstone Doherty & Kartalova-O’Doherty, 2010, p.213). I would not rush to such a positivist conclusion. For one, women are so habituated into the sick role that conceding frailty and copping their medicine are deeply ingrained in our collective mindset. Men, on the other hand, are supposed to be fighting fit, even if they feel as flat as a tack or as strung-out as a kite. Further, reporting kick starts a process whereby the objectified patient is pumped full of meds that might have won a few horses Melbourne Cups, but which have no proven clinical efficacy in humans. The ‘good’ associated with lemming-like, plodding up to the high altar of biopsychiatry to dutifully take your medicine, might keep the cash registers ringing at big pharma, but is it really the right thing to do?

Still, Tedstone Doherty and Kartalova-O’Doherty (2010) add a bit more weight in this article to the reasons behind why men are so reluctant to seek help for their mental health problems, in this case, from general practitioners. Noting from their research that there are many factors, ‘both socio-demographic and psychological’ influencing that demonstrably gendered resistance by men, the authors came up with several ‘more (or less) likely’ findings (2010, p.225)…

• Men were more likely to seek help from a GP if their mental health adversely affected their capacity to engage in physical rather than social activities;
• Men who were embarrassed about disclosing mental health problems to a GP were less inclined to seek help than men who were not so embarrassed;
• Married or partnered men were more likely to seek help from a GP than single men;
• Men who were highly educated were more likely to seek help from a GP than men who were not highly educated;
• Unemployed men were more likely to seek help from a GP than men who were working; and
• Men in rural areas were more likely to seek help from a GP than men in urban areas (2010, pp.225-226).

Amongst their recommendations, the authors suggest public health education campaigns, to ‘normalise’ distress and therefore conceivably enable men to feel less embarrassed about seeking help for their mental health problems (2010, pp.225-277). I wonder about that. Every time I see a former male politician, sports star or actor pop up on TV proclaiming that they are chronically depressed, that they have had to either abandon or curtail their prior ambitions, and that they must remain on powerful drugs for the rest of their lives, I wonder what sort of normalising is that? Besides, ‘distress’ is an emotion so contrary to masculine ideals, that it would deter many men from ever seeking help.

Whenever we refer to men and their reluctance to seek help for their mental health problems, we need to reflect on …

 1. which men?

2. in what context?

3. being offered what help? and

4. amidst what alternatives?

In closing, Tedstone Doherty and Kartalova-O’Doherty (2010) briefly comment on the valuable support that can be provided by family and friends to someone who is distressed. I would second that…