Some recent facts about Men’s Mental Health in Canada:

• Approximately one million Canadian men suffer from mental health issues, and a major depression each year.

• Of the 55% of Canadians who meet the criteria for probable PTSD (i.e., anxiety, depression, and significant difficulty coping after an overwhelming event), four in five (82%) experience trouble accessing effective health care needed for support and healing.

• On average, approximately 400,000 Canadians take their own lives each year, 75% of whom are men.

• Although men and women experience similar mental health challenges, men’s ability and willingness to talk about and seek support for these vital issues are vastly different.

• Why? Because the perceived standards of masculinity and the related stigma surrounding men seeking support continues to be challenging. Men still irrationally worry that their mental health issues will pose a burden to others, that they should be able to manage and control their feelings and issues independently, that a ‘strong and capable man’ doesn’t need to ask for help. They also worry that seeking support from others, even a professional, won’t really help them.