Most differences in how men and women grieve are the results of social responses and gender- specific roles. Not dealing with feelings can lead to depression, anxiety, isolation, physical problems and abuse. Be a man; don’t cry. This is a message little boys are given, which often impairs them from doing this natural part of grieving as adults.

Men don’t need help. Many men would rather drive around lost than ask for help. During grief, this may be how they feel- lost and reluctant to ask for help. Seeking help is a sign of weakness. Because men are already work oriented they can us that excuse to further avoid dealing with grief and hurt. They suffer in silence, believing they need to be strong, and that no one cares. Society puts this on men, so they often repress and suppress their feelings.

It is okay for men to be angry, but it isn’t okay to feel hurt, scared, to display tender feelings, or to cry. Society projects this macho image on the male identity, thus making it difficult for men to feel comfortable with expressing their feelings.

“Even though men have those needs to be strong for others, and to protect, we must remember that they defiantly grieve when they lose a beloved family member or friend. Grief is like a wave that knocks us down over and over again. Whether or not men talk much about it, they feel the force.” Judy Baker, MFT

Bereavement Ministry, 1997 Harriet Young

Suicide is an important topic which is affecting many people and their loved ones in our society. Although we hear about young people who die by suicide more prevalently, they are not the age group that is most affected. Older people actually have twice as many suicides in a given year than people 30 or younger.

However, every 12.8 minutes someone in America completes suicide. This is a lot of people while 78% of the actual suicides are male, 75% of the non-fatal attempts are female. The method people use are genera;;y: 51% firearms, 24.5% hanging, and 16% poisoning (which is most usually a drug or prescription overdose) Men tend to mostly use the more traumatic methods.

While many people feel that holiday times such as Christmas, etc. will bring on more suicide attempts, this is actually not borne out of statistics. The spring time (primarily the month of April) actually shows a higher incident of suicide. It is important to keep in mind that suicide is not caused so much by difficult life situations, but by medical and psychological problems. Over 90% of suicide victims have been diagnosed with such things as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other mental and emotional concerns. This should be something of a comfort to the loved ones, who tend to take on a lot of guilt, thinking they should have been able to prevent the loss.