There has been an historical and well-documented reluctance on the part of men to identify and seek support for mental ill-health. There are many reasons for this: female-orientated mental health support, stigma, shame and so forth.

It is clear, from my own (You are being categorised as better than you are 'Male students’ perception of male student mental health. 2024) and others’ research (Dr Martin Robb, Open University, Act tough and hide weakness research reveals pressure young men are under, 2017) that young men in particular feel social pressures to conform to specific traits, such as being invulnerable, and an expectation to show no ‘weakness’ as men.

My research looks specifically at male students and has shown that for some, perceptions around patriarchy and privilege can lead them further away from admitting feeling vulnerable or in need of support. But male students do experience isolation, loneliness and stress, which can all lead to mental ill-health. Moreover, data from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (Recommendations from male students help shape mental health support for this high-risk group, 2020) shows that 69% of UK university student deaths by suicide are male.

Encouragingly, we can also see from recent research, that men are willing to talk about their mental health and their emotions. But they need the right circumstances and environment, and they need to know that this is normal and ‘allowed’ as part of being healthy. My research with Jozef Sen for example (I’ve never been in a situation with guys talking like this before in my life, 2025) focused on understanding the impacts of a university-based, male student, peer support group, on its facilitators and highlighted how facilitating these groups not only contributed to  individual growth and confidence for the male students themselves, but also how it challenged dominant norms around male emotional expression.

Much work has been done over the last five or so years to reduce stigma and encourage men to talk about their wellbeing and their mental health. Yet as research from Movember (Young Men’s Health in a Digital World, 2025) showed, there is a risk of this being undermined by masculinity influencers and a media push to pit genders against each other.  

More needs to be done then to normalise men and boys experiencing poor mental health and to promote looking after their mental health and seeking support where necessary as self-care behaviours. Male support may need to look different to female support, at least in the short term, for example male-only support groups.

At a time where we have rightly focused on women and girls, we must also ensure we support men and boys in the right ways. We need to acknowledge that assumptions of inherent gender-based privilege can be damaging for some men and we should continue to push the message that looking after one’s mental health is a part of being mentally strong.