TW: anxiety, depression, toxic relationships with exercise, mental health discussion.

This episode marks the first of a new series, where we'll tackle an awkward or intimidating topic with the help of a guest and a big helping of history.  Mental Health and Masculinity is a huge discussion currently, but you might find it difficult to speak up about your own feelings or even understand the trends in statistics. 

According to Public Health England, in 2017 16.9% of the population were estimated to have a common mental disorder. The Office of National Statistics reported the first rise in suicides in 2018 since 2013, of which around 75% were among men, a curve which has only steepened with the unprecedented conditions created by the coronavirus pandemic. 

In this episode, my friend Tess and I will be sharing our own struggles with mental health. Tess will discuss her experience with depression and the therapy she went through, while I share my personal difficulty in understanding and coping with anxiety. If this discussion may trigger you in any way, please do not listen. 

However, this podcast is also filled with interesting history in regards to Britain's relationship with mental health. I'll give you the brief story of how our attitudes, social stigmas, understanding and solutions have developed over centuries to create the environment we have today, in particular how the age-old stereotyping of women's mental health disorders as 'hysteria' and rigid Victorian gender norms have created the gender imbalance we see today in mental health statistics. If you would like to learn about this but don't feel comfortable with hearing personal experiences, here are the time stamps:

In ancient times: 12:37-17:04

In the middle ages: 22:16-25:03

In the modern day: 27:18-37:51

Ali Hagget's article: Looking Back: Masculinity and mental health - the long view | The Psychologist (bps.org.uk)

The Samaritans Charity links:

TELEPHONE: 116 123

EMAIL: [email protected]