Since 2003, Movember has been a key player on the fundraising calendar. For over two decades, the Movember initiative has aimed to ‘take on the biggest health issues affecting men: mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.’  The organisation’s unique approach focuses on charity, activism and awareness campaigns in the month of November. But their strong message and clear focus extends far beyond one month of the year. For Movember, their charitable efforts are far deeper rooted and work towards making ‘an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health,’ year-round.

What is Movember?

In 2003, two close friends met for a drink. Over their chilled pints, the concept of Movember began to grow. Travis Garone and Luke Slattery noticed that ‘the moustache, a fixture in previous decades, was nowhere to be seen in recent trends.’ Their causal comments on the contemporary absence of the moustache soon grew into a noble commitment.  The duo came up with the concept of convincing their friends to grow a moustache. This was the first seed of Movember; participants would pay $10 to ‘grow a mo.’ The proceeds would be donated towards men’s health projects. In this early stage, 30 men (the original ‘Mo Bros,’ took part in the challenge.

Over time this developed to the multinational Movember – a charitable organisation currently active in over 21 countries. Movember have raised over 730 million dollars, supporting more than 1000 ‘men’s health programs,’ in the past 21 years. With their witty and memorable slogan – ‘Grow a Mo to Help Save a Bro’, Movember have helped put men’s health firmly into the public consciousness.

But what are their key goals? Movember focus on three key areas in men’s health:

1. Mental health and suicide prevention
2. Prostate cancer
3. Testicular cancer

Movember’s Approach to Men’s Wellbeing

Movember’s core tenet is to ‘help men cope and live happier, healthier, longer lives.’ One of the ways they do this is by championing men’s mental health. But why is this focus on men’s mental health so pressing?

Why is it Needed?

Generally, men are less likely to reach out for psychological support than other groups. This can risk exacerbating emotional distress and compounding complex mental health symptoms. Ultimately, this can lead to individuals living with psychosocial difficulties for extended periods of time without support. Research indicates that men may be less likely to engage with professional support than women. When we consider the social stigmas around mental health, there are also concerns that men may be wary about approaching family or friends about their wellbeing. This is thought to be connected to men being ‘deterred from engaging in mental health services due to sociali[s]ation into traditional masculine gender roles.’ Whilst the charity Mind indicates that men are becoming more open to the idea of engaging with therapy, there are still large concerns about the number of men whose struggles go underneath the radar.

The Stats

The data surrounding men’s mental health is quite stark, illustrating potential discrepancies and gaps in community, social and psychiatric support. Movember campaign for the improvement of mental health awareness and accessibility in each of these arenas in order to begin to counteract some of the more concerning statistics.

At the root of raising and building awareness is educating ourselves on the current climate. This means assessing the prevalence of specific conditions and experiences related to psychological distress amongst men in particular. With men generally reporting ‘lower levels of life satisfaction than women,’ it would not be unrealistic to define our era as one being marked by a male mental health crisis. But how does this tend to play out?

Anxiety

Anxiety is a psychological state or feeling related to intense worry or fear. However, anxiety is typically transient. When this becomes our default, we can be diagnosed with anxiety; a psychiatric condition often categorised as a mood disorder.

• 29.9% of men in 2022-23 reported ‘high levels of anxiety’
• Almost 1 in 10 men live with depression or anxiety on some level. Less than half of these men receive treatment.

Depression

Depression is a mood disorder. Rather than just a period of sadness, depression is characterised by persistent low mood, hopelessness, overwhelm and emptiness. Depression is one of the most experienced mental health conditions globally; however, it can disproportionately impact men.

Whilst the World Health Organization identified that women are more likely to live with depression than men, men are more likely to die by suicide than their female counterparts.  This is thought to be linked to reduced access to treatment amongst men.  Despite this, only 36% of referrals to NHS talking therapies – the most common mode of treatment for depression – are for men. This indicates a huge unmet treatment need for men across the UK.

Addiction

4.3% of men deal with addiction, in comparison to 1.9% of women. This indicates that addiction is often more prevalent amongst men. Mind’s statistics indicate that:

• Men are more likely to drink alone then women
• Men are more likely to use recreational drugs to destress

The ‘keep calm and carry on’ mentality around men’s mental health can lead to a vicious cycle of behaviours that become more harmful than helpful. By relying on drugs, alcohol, nicotine, gambling, sex, or other behaviours in order to cope, the likelihood of developing dependency or addiction deepens.

Suicide

Suici

• Men are around three times more likely to commit suicide than women.
• Men ages between 40 and 49 are at the highest risk of suicide

Beyond the Moustache

Movember have solidified themselves as a key pillar in the advocacy for men’s health. Their iconic motif of the moustache may help to demystify the idea of male wellbeing. By using the immediately recognisable symbol of the ‘mo’, Movember are able to immediately home in on their focus demographic – men. Whilst the organisation may have gained traction with the tongue-in-cheek, playful fundraising activity of growing facial hair, their legacy goes far behind the image of the moustache.

By foregrounding the role of support, open discussion and funding for future research, Movember have highlighted the crucial significance of addressing gender differences in access to appropriate psychiatric treatment. By opening the floor for discussion and demystifying the idea of speaking about your feelings, Movember has begun to usher in a new era for men’s mental health – an era where talking is a sign of strength, and something that should be promoted and celebrated all year round.

Access Support

If you are struggling with high levels of anxiety, low mood, intense thoughts or spiralling behaviours, then it is likely time to access suitable support. Support for mental health can come in many forms, from many places, such as:

• 111 for urgent advice
• 999 in an emergency
• Mind (0300 1233393)
• Samaritans (116 123)
• SHOUT (85258)
• Men Who Talk
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Support from GP
• Support from Specialist Mental Health Services
• Specialist Rehab Treatment 

Whether in November or any other month of the year – you have the option to reach out for help. No one ever deserves to struggle alone.