Job loss, heartbreak and grief: The triple burden pushing men to the brink [Courtesy/iStock]
The loss of a job, separation from a partner and the death of a loved one are each major life stressors on their own. For a young man facing several at once, the experience can feel like being stripped of identity, purpose and support, precisely when stability is needed most.
With Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month shining a spotlight on the issue, it is important to examine honestly what such tragedies can do and how communities can respond.
“We need to create more awareness around counselling and mental health because, at times, people blame friends or family without understanding what to look out for or what is really going on in the life of the affected person,” explains Josephine Waithiru, a psychologist at KIPC.
Losing work, for instance, has often been described as an attack on a man’s sense of worth.
