Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on male mental health

Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on male mental health

Andrew Kinder, Vice Chair, EAPA and Professional Head of Mental Health Services, Optima Health 

Covid-19 could well be the breakthrough in male health we’ve needed, the extreme set of circumstances that makes opening up a necessity and talking to professionals as well as family and friends the essential norm.

Traditionally men have been the ‘hard to help’ group. Whether that’s GPs or EAPs, the experience has been the same. Women are more likely to share issues with people in their networks and more likely to book themselves in to access professional support early. Men tend to wait until a condition is chronic and there doesn’t appear to be any other choice. 

The typical ‘macho’ self-image that can go along with masculinity, that sense of invulnerability, has persisted through the pandemic with reports suggesting men are more likely to be breaking lockdown and social distancing rules. But Covid-19 has also meant men have experienced months of a new virus which has no absolutely no respect for masculine attitudes, no matter how strong or determined. Men have also appeared to be more susceptible. Being unaware of underlying health conditions, poor physical or mental health in general, has become nightmarishly threatening. And, perhaps most importantly, men used to feeling in control of their lives, their career, their independence, have lost potentially much of this.

This combination of risks and disruptions to normal routines is a unique opportunity for changing behaviours among men in particular. More men are reportedly seeing how getting help is a sensible, reasonable thing to do. Getting help early certainly makes a real difference. The Covid-19 period hopefully looks to be encouraging men to face up to their feelings, realising there is no way of putting them to one side and just getting on with things. Because it’s clear how everyone is sharing the same anxieties, having to cope with fear and uncertainty over the future, whether within families, through work conversations or over social media. That gives the potential that much of the stigma of talking about feelings has fallen away.

Getting more men to be aware of their mental health is vital, not only for working through tough times, but for their physical health and resistance to the virus. We know that people’s auto-immune systems are weakened by stress and anxiety: good mental health means stronger immunity.  

For men it’s important they stop putting energy and angst into what they can’t control (so many things when it comes to current living and working conditions). There’s no purpose or value to worrying about future plans, even job security. Instead mental attention needs to be focused on what can be achieved today and tomorrow, what is going to help: a virtuous circle of physical health, good exercise, diet and sleep routines to begin with. Learning a new skill, focusing on what tasks can be done at work, finding a new hobby is ideal. With online content there’s also so much choice – and now’s exactly the time when men shouldn’t be bothering with conforming to gender stereotypes. Trying cooking, arts and crafts, playing an instrument can all contribute to building up mental wellbeing. As a consequence we don’t dwell but stay in control of what we can, and enjoy being the best we can be. 

The recovery period is also going to be the right time for men to start putting together a list of the people they can get help from, whether just in their heads or on paper: the list that confirms how they don’t have to go through problems alone, there’s always someone to talk to. It’s a chance to think more widely. Friends and family, the EAP, but also work colleagues, line manager, union rep. 

Conversations asking for help don’t have to be by phone or in person. Increased use of video calls and messaging by IT in general can make getting support easier for men. The anonymous nature of an EAP is, in itself, an important factor.  As men seek support for themselves they can also look to provide support to others.

Let’s just hope that the lessons from Covid-19, the experience of needing and finding reassurance, the rewards of being open about feelings, are the beginning of hopefully a shift in male culture, not a blip. The cataclysmic nature of global events seems to make that very likely.
You can read more about supporting male mental health in Positive Male Mind. Written by Andrew Kinder, Professional Head of Mental Health Services, Optima Health and Dr Shaun Davis, Global Director of Safety, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability at Royal Mail, the book seeks to end the stigma around mental health vulnerability in men and includes a section on addressing male mental health in the workplace.