Women are actually more likely to try to kill themselves – three to four times more likely. Many of these are partially funded by the Movember Foundation, a men’s health organization, which has highlighted male suicide as one of its key areas of investment. That’s starting to happen, with websites like HeadsUpMen and groups like Men’s Sheds, which offer a space and tools where men can gather to work on projects and make connections. That’s why many argue that suicide prevention programs should recognize that men are a high risk group and tailor messaging and programming to them. Three times as many Canadian men kill themselves every year than women do – in Ontario, that means more men are dying from suicide than from car accidents.
Suicide is often thought of as a gender-neutral issue, but in reality, it’s a problem that affects men far more than women. You hear the same story, and it’s my story too.” “We have 11 story videos and a whole bunch of blogs on the site, and basically every time it’s they didn’t talk about their emotions with anybody, they wanted to figure it out on their own. that I probably never asked for help because of those male stereotypes,” he says. “Before, I never even thought of mental health in terms of what it means to be a man.
The experience has changed his perspective on why he didn’t feel comfortable asking for professional help earlier. He now works for HeadsUpGuys, a website based out of the University of British Columbia that focuses on men and mental illness. “It was only when I was obviously really sick and ill that I reached out, because I couldn’t pretend anymore.” “I basically never talked about my emotions with anybody I felt like I wanted to figure things out on my own,” he says. But he wonders what would have happened if he’d reached out for help earlier, before his depression worsened.
Adrenaline and instinct led him to swim to a nearby platform, where he was soon picked up by emergency services – his brother had received his text and called 911. “I had lost all sight of ever getting better, and of anything enjoyable I’d ever done,” he says.ĭespite breaking six ribs and puncturing a lung, he woke up in the water. He had been severely depressed for months, and the counselling that he was receiving and medication he was on wasn’t helping much. Five years ago, Josh was standing on a bridge, texting his brother a good-bye message.