Men's mental challenges 'bigger than we think'

The number of men suffering with mental health is "much higher" than what's in the census, experts say.

The number of men suffering with mental health is "much higher" than what's in the census, experts say.

Young men suffering serious mental health issues are “without a doubt” under-represented in the Australian census, due to stigma and an unwillingness to disclose their illness, experts say.

Nearly one in ten Australians (2.3m) reported long-term mental health issues in the census, 600,000 of which were aged 20-34. Of those 600,000, about 400,000 were women and 200,000 men.

But despite the disparity between the genders, experts said the number of men suffering mentally was “much higher” than reported.

“Men don’t talk about mental health the way women do,” Michael Musker of the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research Education group from the University of Adelaide told The Oz. “They take a macho position, and end up acting before they talk about it. Women, on the other hand, talk about their mental health and are therefore much more likely to disclose it.” 

While Dr Musker said the census was the “best indicator we will get” of the Australian health landscape, he said it “without a doubt” underrepresented men with mental illness.

Despite men reporting fewer mental health issues than women, the male suicide rate in Australia is consistently much higher than that of women. In 2020 there were 2384 men that took their own lives, compared to 755 women.

Madelyne Bisby, a Macquarie University research fellow, told The Oz there was a “very possible” chance the number of men who reported bad mental health in the census was less than the truth. 

“There’s a lot of stigma in men, self stigma, which means there isn't a space for them to process their emotions,” she said. 

“They may not know they have an illness or they may not be willing to admit it. There isn’t a great acceptance of men being able to share, and say they are suffering.”

More than 235,000 young people aged under 19 were recorded as suffering a long-term mental health condition, a total of 7% of this age cohort. 

“Adolescence is a complex time - you’re exploring your identity, your hormones are going crazy and it can be quite stressful,” Dr Bisby said. “When you’re deeper into adulthood you’re able to regulate those emotions, and learn to cope a bit better.” 

If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.