Movember mustaches in conversation bubbles
Nov 10, 2022
Movember, Anxiety, and What You Can Do!
The stigma surrounding mental illness and the fear of being judged by others is why movements such as Movember are so important. A man dies of suicide every minute, everyday, due to mental health struggles. This is evidence that the awareness of mental health resources that erase the stigma surrounding mental health will save lives. Knowledge and awareness of Movember provides men with a chance to speak about their own stories and struggles.

November is an important month for mental health awareness. A Canadian survey from 2019 states that individuals are 3 times less likely to disclose mental health issues compared to physical illnesses like cancer. In November, men grow mustaches in support of ‘Movember’, a movement that aims to raise awareness about three issues men face: mental health, prostate
cancer, and testicular cancer. When mustaches are grown in November, they represent support for Movember and aim to spark conversations about mental health and suicide prevention.

The stigma surrounding mental illness and the fear of being judged by others is why movements such as Movember are so important. A man dies of suicide every minute, everyday, due to mental health struggles. This is evidence that the awareness of mental health resources that erase the stigma surrounding mental health will save lives. Knowledge and awareness of Movember provides men with a chance to speak about their own stories and struggles. Many men feel as though they cannot openly express their feelings to their peers, families, or communities. Movember aims to change that. The Movember movement believes that the more men share about their stories, the easier it will be to change how men are treated and supported. Movember aims to create long term positive change in the men’s mental health sector and aims to provide men with improved personal, communal, and global mental health resources. More lives will be saved when men are made aware of resources, as men will feel less alone and unsupported. The more resources men are aware of, the more confident they will be at helping themselves, their families, their peers, and their communities. It is clear that awareness and participation in mental health resources can save lives and ensure that men feel supported in their mental health struggles.

What does Movember mean to Cam’s Kids?

1 in 5 Canadians experiences mental health issues, and General Anxiety Disorder affects 6.8 million adults, however 1⁄3 of men tend to wait 2 years or never tell anyone about their mental health issues. Stigma and the lack of mental health resources leave men to be a particularly vulnerable group. To learn more about men’s mental health, you can watch this video on the Cam’s Kids Instagram.

It should come to no surprise that the Movember movement and Cam’s Kids share many of the same values and attitudes when it comes to mental health. Early identification of mental health symptoms and using the right tools to overcome struggles is crucial when understanding and managing your mental health; both Movember and Cam’s Kids are resources that can provide people with the tools they need. Cam’s Kids understands the importance of peer support and finding a safe space to share your story and struggles. By creating more awareness of anxiety and mental health struggles in peer and community supports, both the Movember movement and Cam’s Kids aim to erase the stigma around and open up the discussion of men’s mental health.

Actionable things Cam's Kids Foundation is encouraging to take part in the Movember movement:

  1. If you identify as a male and are in high school, university, or college join our Cam's Kids Ambassadors!
  2. Cam's Kids is putting together a collab video for Movember. Please send your videos to [email protected] or [email protected]. For more information regarding this please reference the Facebook group or reach out to either Brittany or Sam via email.
  3. Grow your mustache and spread the word about what Movember is all about and why you support the movement to help mens mental health. Use technology and social media to your advantage!
  4. Participate, even if you identify as a woman. Men count on us woman to stand up and encourage speaking up and being open about mental health. Many men are conciously or subconciously placing pressure to be viewed as 'manly/strong'. We have to remind society that woman view a man that is open with their thoughts and feelings to be the strongest they come.

To learn more about Movember and their mental health efforts, you can visit their website here: https://ca.movember.com/.

References
https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real/mental-health-statistics
https://www.camskids.com/
https://ca.movember.com/
https://www.instagram.com/camskids_8/?hl=en
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