Consider this: More than 800,000 people die by suicide and up to 25 times as many make a suicide attempt every year. And globally, one man dies by suicide every minute.
This is why the Movember Foundation, an international men’s health charity, published three YouTube videos ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day (which is September 10) that are a part of the organization’s “Unmute—Ask Him” campaign, encouraging people to open up a discussion about men’s mental health.
“We can all play a part in reducing the rate of male suicide by sparking a potentially life-changing conversation—the simple first step is just to ask and listen,” Craig Martin, global director of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the Movember Foundation, said in a statement.
What’s genius about these videos is that if you mute them and just read the on-screen text, you’ll just see the men explaining what they’re doing in each—making a fishing rod, filling a gas barbecue tank, and changing a flat bicycle tire.
But if you unmute the sound, you’ll know what’s really going on.
In the first video called “You don’t have to be a fisherman to master this simple survival skill,” a man improvises a fishing rod out of a soda can. While the text on the screen reads, “This is great for doing at home. Make sure it’s empty, then pierce the can,” he is actually saying aloud, “Things aren’t great at home. It’s made me feel kind of empty.”
In the video entitled “A handy tip for getting out of trouble, wherever you are,” the on-screen text reads, “If you’re in a bit of trouble and don’t happen to have your repair kit, don’t worry. Let me show you a way to fix a flat.”
But again, if you listen to what the man is really saying, the message goes way deeper: “Now I’m in a bit of trouble, and i don’t know if you really care to hear it. I don’t want you to worry about me, but I’ve just been feeling a bit flat.”
Like this video shows, it can be hard for men to talk about their mental health.
Men are often taught to suppress any expression of sadness during childhood, Fred Rabinowitz, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at California’s University of Redlands, in 2016. So even though depression is very common among men, very few are willing to admit it.
And sometimes the symptoms aren’t as clearcut as you might think. If you feel weighed down by your negative mood for weeks or even months, experience things like irritability, impulsivity, fatigue, loss of appetite, and even physical pain, you may be suffering from depression.
But with the right treatment, recovery is possible. Most people go to therapy or take medication to treat their depression, but as we’ve reported in the past, a combination of both tends to be the best route for many people. (Here’s everything you need to know about going to therapy.) But talk to your doctor about what may work best for you, specifically.
You can also join a support group if you think it’s easier to surround yourself with other guys going through the same thing you are. (Here’s how to find one near you.)
But if you need help right away, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or text the Crisis Text Line for 24/7 support and suicide prevention. Here is a list of international resources as well.
Additional reporting by Alisa Hrustic.
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