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Anxiety affects One in five Australians at some point in their lives. But the condition remains very stigmatized, poorly understood and sub-diagnosed.
Men are about half as probable To be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder compared to women. Some feel pressure to be intrepid and hide their emotions. Others simply do not understand or do not have a language to describe the symptoms of anxiety.
This has serious consequences. Our latest research Young men turn to ambulance services when their symptoms become overwhelming – some even think they have a heart attack.
So why do so many men wait for them to need to call emergency services, rather than requesting support earlier from a doctor or a psychologist? And what encourages them to call? We examined the paramedical notes of 694 men aged 15 to 25 in Victoria, Australia, to discover it.
Young men have not seen others ask for help
Boys are raised to assess courage, strength and insurance and to remove vulnerability.
When parents encourage boys to “face their fears», Rather than offering emotional comfort and sensitivity, anxiety is positioned in the conflict masculinity. This leads to a disjunction between the support that young men are welcomed (and expect) of others, and the support they may want or need.
It also means that boys grow up believing that their male models – dads, brothers, grandfathers, coaches – are not anxious, dissuasing boys and men from asking for help. Consequently, anxiety is not diagnosed and possibilities for early intervention are missed.
Recently, we have noticed positive changes contesting restrictive male stereotypes. This improved the conscience of those around him Men’s depression – opening of conversations, normalization of aid research and leading to the development of Men’s mental health programs and resources.
However, the anxiety of men remains in the shadows. When anxiety is mentioned, it is not with the same weight or concern as depression. This despite the anxiety of men who have harmful Health impacts including turning to alcohol and drugs to cope and increase the risk of male suicide.
What does anxiety look like?
When men are encouraged to talk about anxiety, they describe various challenges, including repetitive worries, the feeling of uncontrollable and intense physical symptoms. This includes a high heart rate, shortness of breath, body pain, tremors and headache.
Jack Steele, an eminent Australian personality and half of the Inspired unemploymentopened its anxiety difficulties The imperfect podcast Last year saying:
I didn’t know what anxiety was. I thought I was the opposite of anxiety.
The way I explain it is like (…) your whole body stops. My throat begins to close and my whole body becomes numb. (…) I feel like I am so alone. You have the impression that no one can help you.
You really think that the end of the world – as if there was none.
These physical symptoms are common in men but can be frequently rejected rather than recognized as anxiety. Our research has revealed that, When left unansweredThese symptoms aggravate and generally occur in more and more contexts.
Why do anxious men call ambulances?
Our new study studied the consequences of the anxiety of men who did not move.
First of all, we used data from the National ambulance monitoring system To identify and describe the types of anxiety that young men experience. We then examined the characteristics and contexts of the anxiety presentations of young men to ambulance services.
Disconneux and lacking in support, many young men turn to ambulances in crisis. Anxiety now explains 10% of participations in the male ambulance For mental health problems, going beyond depression and psychosis.
Although each presentation is different, our study identified three current presentations in young men:
1. Sudden appearance of intense body symptoms resembling potentially fatal physical health conditions such as heart attack.
Joshua, twenty-two years old, for example, whose files we examined in the context of our study, were in a tram at the Maison du Travail when he experienced sudden numbness in his hands and feet. A passerby saw that he had muscle spasms in his hands. Joshua was alert but extremely anxious and asked for the passer -by help.
2. Severe anxiety triggered or aggravated by drug addiction.
Adam, a 21 -year -old man, consumed a substantial quantity of diazepam (Valium) Going home, after having an anxiety crisis at work. Adam contacted paramedical paramedics because he feared that his symptoms of anxiety were not dissipated and worried that he may have taken too much Diazepam.
3. Deterioration of mental health with self-harassment or suicidal thoughtsOften linked to situational stressors such as unstable housing, unemployment, financial difficulties and relational tension.
Leo, 25, was more and more anxious during the last three days. Leo’s parents called an ambulance after he told them he wanted to commit suicide. Leo told paramedical paramedics when he arrived that he always felt suicidal and that he worsens in the past three months.
Direct the resources where they are necessary
The anxiety presentations of young men are at high intensity of time paramedicsmany of which feel poorly equipped to respond effectively. After excluding physical causes, paramedical support is generally limited to comfort and breathing techniques.
Most young men are then invited to follow up with general practitioners, psychologists or other health professionals in the General Community.
But going to this next step is to overcome the stigma associated with the search for help, the shame of having called an ambulance and deep tensions between anxiety and what it means to be a man.
This means that many young men slip through the meshes of the net. And without support in mental health in progress, they face high risks to present themselves again to emergency services with more and more serious mental health symptoms.
To remedy it, we must:
- accelerate conversations on men’s anxiety and take their experiences seriously
- Develop an awareness campaign for the anxiety of men. Awareness campaigns to have successfully Dismantled stigma and shed light on the depression and suicide of men
- Improve the diagnosis of anxious men’s disorders by increasing and training clinicians to detect anxiety and unique constellations distinct from symptoms in men
- Create accessible pathways to early support through digital psychological education resources, focused on improving awareness and literacy surrounding men Anxiety experiences.
Krista FisherResearcher, center for youth mental health, Melbourne University. She has received funding from the Men in Mind Stock Exchange through the World Health Charitable Organization for Movers, Movember.
Dan LubmanExecutive clinical director, turning and director of the Monash Addiction Research Center, Monash University. He is supported by a NHMRC leadership scholarship.
Rice SimonAssociate professor and clinical psychologist, mental health in elite sports, Melbourne University. He received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Zac seidlerAssociate Professor, Center for Youth mental health, Melbourne University. He received a subsidy from the NHMRC investigator. He is also a global director of research with the Movember Institute of Men’s Health. He advises the government on the health of men, masculinities, prevention of violence and social media policy.
This article is republished from The conversation Under a creative communs license. Read it original article.
