Men’s Anxiety, Why It Matters, and What is Needed to Limit its Risk for Male Suicide

In this course, Krista Fisher (Ph.D. candidate, Orygen, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne) offers statistics about anxiety, the most common mental health issue in Australia, and talks about how traditional masculine norms may prevent not only help-seeking for it, but also awareness and acceptance of it. Her qualitative research examining men’s experiences of anxiety has shown that young men, at least, are impacted in both their inner and outer worlds. Fisher traces the journey of anxiety from unawareness to acceptance of it and outlines what men are looking for in reaching out for informal support. The impacts and benefits of them doing so are briefly noted, and Fisher concludes by addressing the question of what is needed to limit the risk for male suicide.