CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Men’s mental health is something that more and more people are trying to raise awareness about. But the reality in the Coastal Bend is that many men are suffering in silence.
Omar Davis was one of those people suffering from depression. He is the owner of Crashbell where he helps people, especially men.
“I was depressed for a really long time, and I struggled with a lot of anger issues,” Davis said.
Davis said November serves as a reminder about the importance of addressing mental health concerns among the male population, because of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
“Growing up, my outlet was to do this that were around vices. Alcohol, drugs, or disassociate,” he said.
According to Anxiety Disorders Association of America, more than 6 million men in American suffer from depression every year. Specifically, 1 in 10 men experience depression or anxiety but less than half will receive treatment.
Coastal Plains Community Center CEO Leonel Trejo said mental health is something that many men overlook.
“Men can easily become irritable at family members, children, if they are not taking care of themselves,” Trejo said.
He said that people need to learn to get help coping with the challenges of the world.
“It’s important for men to take care of themselves especially in the world we live in today,” Trejo said. “There’s a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, a lot of pressures and just in order to maintain a good sense of self.”
Davis said that he wants to tell people that being a man goes beyond the stigma.
“Being a man and what we believe being a man is sometimes not expressing yourself which also means that you can’t talk about how you feel, you can’t talk about depression, you can’t talk about anxiety, stress because it would make you seem like a weak man,” Davis said.
Experts said that mental health is a disease and should be treated like all other illnesses.
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