Mental Health in a Boys' Boarding House
Before anyone switches off, thinking this will be another rant about 'anxiety' and the facts about male mental health and suicides, please read on for a while and give this a chance. The first thing I believe is that there is still room for the idea of 'manning up' (but not the term itself). The reason I say this is that if we are to build resilience, we need to know the difference between a boy that is crying over a bruised knee that they think is a fracture and the next boy that is suffering in silence as their own world and world view crumbles around them. I hate the term 'man up' (mainly because girls are usually much better at doing this and also because it is a massively outdated term) but the boy with the knee needs to get over it and the second boy, needs help. 3/4s of all suicides in the UK are male. This fact was discussed on the radio this week and it was suggested that this ratio is echoed throughout the developed world. The facts is...