Struggling in silence

With many men still finding it hard to talk about their mental health, the Movember charity warns that suicide is on the rise

- Lucy Robinson

We've heard the saying, "It's OK not to be OK," countless times over the years.
And while the tide is slowly turning, with the likes of Prince Harry, David Beckham and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson speaking about their own experiences of mental health challenges, for many men there's a feeling that they still can't reach out for support - and the consequences are hard to ignore.

Globally, around 60 men take their own life every hour. That's one every minute. In the UK, suicide is the leading cause of death in men in their twenties and early thirties, and three out of four deaths by suicide are by males.

If that wasn't alarming enough, in 2023 the rate for males taking their own lives was the highest it's been since 1999.

"It's a complicated picture," explains Tom Ellis, Global Director of Young Men's Health Literacy at Movember. "Among male 20- to 34-year-olds, suicide is a leading cause of death and the figures are moving in the wrong direction, which is really distressing.