THE NUMBERS OF middle aged men seeking help for stress, suicidal thoughts and mental health issues have risen by around 25 per cent in Dublin in the past three years.
Grow, the national mental health recovery organisation, have noted an increase in the numbers of men aged between 45 and 55 visiting them in the North Dublin area – making it the fastest growing age-group since 2009.
Louise Cleary, area coordinator for Grow, puts a lot of men’s mental health issues down to financial stresses and strains because of the recession:
Many of those middle aged men we are seeing have lost their jobs but are striving to carry big financial responsibilities to support their families and pay bills and mortgages.In some cases, financial stress has also contributed to marriage break up and these men have found themselves out on their own and separated from their families. There have been notable increases in suicides in this age group in recent years.
Different issues affect different age groups when it comes to mental health. Social media bullying is an area which particularly affects younger people, unemployment and marital break-up is having the biggest impact among those in the middle-aged group, while loneliness is of particular concern for the elderly.
Grow’s north Dublin region will hold age-targeted educational talks to help raise community awareness to teach people how to look after their own mental health.
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