Men’s Mental Health Statistics

While this might not strike everyone as falling into their definition of “mental illness”, addiction is very much a disease of the mind. The American Psychiatric Association characterizes it as a complex condition, a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequences.

In the course of all our lives, we’ve all had encounters with addiction, either on a personal level as a user or knowing a loved one who has suffered from it. From the commonplace like alcohol and nicotine (tobacco) to sedative or stimulants to the ghastly tidal wave of opioids, addiction surrounds us.

The N.I.H. found that with respect to almost all drugs, men are more likely to use than women.

If you’re struggling with addiction, reach and learn more about drug rehab in Anaheim, California.

The common stereotype about PTSD in men is that it relates to men in the military, those who have seen things in combat. That’s what we see in the movies. In actuality, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is more than that as the name suggests. Trauma comes in as many forms as one can imagine.

The American Psychological Association found that while men experience more traumatic events than women, females are more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Additionally, the National Center for PTSD notes that while 4 out of 100 men will develop PTSD at some point in their lives, the number jumps to 10 for women.

This is your typical change in mood, it’s very normal to go through a range of emotions, what separates that from bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive, is the severity and overwhelming nature of those swings. The manic side of it being an excessive high and euphoria and the depressive side being just as advertised but in the extreme.

In the United States, 2.3 million people suffer with this mental illness and the rates are fairly even between men and women.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears that lead you to do repetitive behaviors. People are compelled to repeat these actions as a way to relieve the distress of the obsessions. These daily rituals can wreak absolute havoc on your day and ignoring them only serves to multiply the level of stress.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, an OCD diagnosis requires these obsessions/compulsions to be time-consuming, on the order of over an hour a day. They also note that 1.2% of Americans have.

Of all the mental illnesses we’ll cover, this is perhaps the one that is most overtly considered to be a non-issue for men for many. Again, it’s one of those preconceived ideas about masculinity that allows us to jump to conclusions like that because eating disorders are a very real issue that men deal with.

The National Eating Disorder Association points out that 1 in 3 people struggling with this illness are men. A 2005 study found that men made up 10% of anorexia and bulimia nervosa patients and a subsequent 2007 study found the number to be as high as 25% and men also made up about 35% of those who suffer from binge eating disorder.

And we’re back to where we started. Anxiety and depression truly are the biggest devastators in terms of mental health for men.

Aside from the fact that 9% males go through these illnesses, the troubling thing is that only 1 in 3 took medication for it and less, 1 in 4, went as far as to speak to a mental health professional about it.

Sadly, because of how depression can manifest itself differently in men than women, appearing as anger or aggression, it’s not always connected back to depression even by doctors.