Scaling the barriers of mental health

1. Walls in the Mind
Scaling the barriers of mental health
Derry 2018
Ian Banks
EMHF
ECCO
RSPH
RSPH
Queens University
Leeds University

5. Gender and social class

6. Suicides versus depression
Svend Aage Madsen

7. Depression vs. Substance abuse
Svend Aage Madsen

8. Svend Aage Madsen
Gender, suicide and suicide attempts
Suicides Suicide attempts

9. Self perceived general health
and survival
Svend Aage Madsen
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Middellevetid i Danmark
Life
expectancy
Self perceived
health –
good and very
good health,
ages 55-64 years

10. Svend Aage Madsen
The traditional symptoms of depression
• Feeling sad
• Loss of engagement
• Blaming one self
• Feeling tired
• Loss of concentration
• Hopelessness
• Helplessness
• Suicidal thoughts

12. Men’s depressive symptoms 1
European psychiatry (Gotland experience)
• Acting out, aggressiveness
• Low impulse control
• Tendency to blame others and to be implacable
• Low stress threshold
• Restlessness
• Risky and socially unacceptable behaviour
• Abuse, especially alcohol.
• General dissatisfaction with oneself and one’s own
behaviour.
Svend Aage Madsen

14. Men’s depressive symptoms 2
Gender psychology
• Withdrawal from relationships
• Over-involvement with work
• Denial of pain
• Rigid demands for autonomy
• Rejection of getting help
• Abuse, drugs and alcohol
Svend Aage Madsen

15. How are men’s mental problems
detected?
Claim:
Men are more easily diagnosed on the basis of
something they do – behaviour – rather than on
the basis of how they feel
Svend Aage Madsen

16. Key Issues in
Men’s Health
More women than men diagnosed
with common mental health
problems, but:
• Almost three quarters of people who kill
themselves are men.
• 73% of adults who “go missing” from home
are men.
• 90% of rough sleepers are men.
• Men are three times more likely than
women to be alcohol dependent.
• Men are more than twice as likely to use
Class A drugs.
• 79% of drug-related deaths occur in men.

17. Key Issues in Men’s Health
Men less likely than women
to:
• See a GP
• Attend for a Health Check
• Opt for bowel cancer screening
• Visit a pharmacy
• Have a dental check-up
• Have an eye check up

18. Recommendations for actions 1
• Men’s depressions must be detected, by
– Giving men appropriate information
– Developing screening instruments suited for
men’s depressions
– Offering men treatment where they are –
especially via working places
Svend Aage Madsen