While many know the Movember campaign as something that started to raise awareness for prostate cancer, it has evolved over the years to encompass a wide range of men’s health issues, including their mental wellbeing.
Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world involving prostate and testicular cancers as well as mental health and suicide prevention. “Men’s mental health is an ongoing concern,” said Robert Whitley, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University and researcher at the Douglas Research Centre. “They have a high suicide rate, with 75 per cent of suicides in Canada being men, and the same proportion can be applied to addiction and substance abuse as well.”
This upswing in male mental health challenges is partly attributed, he said, to a shift in the role men play in the workforce today. “It is often linked to a decline in traditional male occupations, such as manufacturing, forestry, and fishing. It used to be that there were jobs where men could find meaning even if they were not well educated. They could be a member of a union and buy a house. But a lot of this is very difficult now, especially in smaller towns,” Whitley explained. “Men feel like they lack meaning and purpose. And these are big risk factors for suicide and substance abuse.”
Whitley found, through his research, that community-based programs have been an effective way to help counter this change. “These programs are not necessarily organized by the official healthcare system but by non-profits and community organizations who are a part of civil society,” he explained. He cited one such group in the West Island where veterans who have PTSD get together for wilderness expeditions. “They go out and camp and fish together, and these programs can have really good benefits on men’s mental health: it gives them comradery, acquisition of new skills, and it gets them away from screens. It’s really inspired by aboriginal mental health approaches: going out in nature can be healing and calm the mind from the rush of everyday life.”
There are various programs like this, from hunting and fly fishing to walking and even doing long-distance driving together. “Research I’ve done shows that if you have a mental health issue, shoulder-to-shoulder activities can be extremely helpful rather than face-to-face ones,” Whitley said. “It allows men to open up while an activity is happening rather than sitting down and telling someone about their problems. There are a lot of new programs that are based around action-oriented activities like this, but we need more. We really need these community-based organizations, which often survive only on a shoestring budget.”
For resources on men’s health and wellbeing, visit
the Movember website at
