The document discusses the complexities of male suicide and depression, highlighting the need for a multifaceted approach that examines sociological factors, gender roles, and cultural constructions of mental health. It emphasizes the importance of addressing stigmas around depression, promoting male-to-male conversations, and incorporating spirituality and community support in prevention strategies. The document calls for more qualitative research and the active participation of men, especially from underrepresented groups, in finding solutions to these challenges.

1. Not Feeling the Best:
Men’s Narratives on
Suicide and Depression
Barry Taylor
Taylor Made Consultancy

2. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• Many dimensions to
understanding the phenomenon
of the over representation of
males in suicide statistics
• Cannot just be explained through
the lens of psychiatric
epidemiology

3. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• Expand the narrative from mad, bad
and sad.
• Suicide prevention strategies must
be inclusive of a range of
disciplines and analysis.
• That which is NOT included is just
as important as that which is.

4. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• Also need to look at:
– Sociological
– Gender Roles
– Social Construction of notions of
mental illness, seeking help,
counselling
– Internal vs External Resiliency

5. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• Males traditionally over
represented in the statistics for
deaths by suicide.
• The generational cluster who came
to our attention 1986 - 1994 are still
represented in suicide statistics

6. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• What was the experience / values /
worldview of this generational cluster
that contributed to the rise of
depression and suicide?
• Generation Y young women are taking
on more male risk taking behaviours.

7. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• Spirituality has something to offer:
– Connection
– Meaning
– Purpose
– Hope
• Common themes as Resiliency literacy

8. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• Male Spirituality, rites of passage help
young man to experience and
understand sense of:
– Mortality
– Limitations
– Vulnerability
– Living within a social system

9. Men & Suicide
How Do We Explain It?
• Need to understand the impact of
Shame - “mate”
• Sense of forgiveness of self / others
• “Utu” - restoring / making right
– Compassion
– Restorative justice
– Reciprocity

10. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• Different discourses but some similar
themes across contexts:
– Not on top of it
– Going through a rough patch
– Feeling out of sorts
– Not coping
– Feeling flat
• Tends to neutralise - does not indicate the
depth of emotions experienced

11. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• Masked Depression:
– Feelings of sadness replaced with rage,
anger, violence, sabotaging, acting out
behaviour
• Aim of therapeutic interventions and
mental health promotion messages
should be an invitation to explore in
depth.

12. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• Identification of emotions must be
balanced with ability to reach out.
• Expectation for “people to know”
• Degree of proactiveness of mates
does socio-economic determinants
– Young Mens Study - Jesuit Social Services

13. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• Stigma in naming Depression
• However when named there can be relief -
may explain why they are feeling this way
• After naming there can be a reluctance to
engage with treatment
• Treatment challenges “ability to cope”

14. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• Risk calculation in compliance with
treatment
• Arapax vs Climax - impact of
medication on sexual functioning
• Challenge is to have men to talk with
each other about their depression and
the ways of dealing with it.

15. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• While men may be comfortable to talk
to women about problems - need to
challenge the myth that men won’t talk
with men
• Create community dialogue lead by
social commentators
– Example of John Kirwan
– Beyond Blue Initiative

16. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• Influence of behaviour by significant
males
– Sons of Vietnam Veterans were 50% of
client of VVCS.
• Positive outcomes for young men with
depression and behavioural issues in
mentoring programmes.

17. Men & Suicide
Discourse of Depression
• Challenge to both clinicians and mental
health promoters
• Need for more qualitative research on men’s
experience of depression
• More men especially from over represented
groups eg Maori men to participate in the
solution finding

18. Men & Suicide
Take home points
• Draw on a range of disciplines to
understand men’s experience of
depression
• Mental health promotion messages need
to be developed by men for men
• Mental health promotion messages must
be careful not to denigrate men and
masculinity but use that which we see as
barriers to become solutions