Ryan's marathon for mental health

On the 23rd of august I will be running my first marathon in the Barossa Valley and thought it would be promising idea to run for something important to me, men mental health. Men's mental health does not get spoken about anywhere near enough for the number of lives it effects and the impact it has on men. 

In 2023 Suicide was the leading cause of death of men aged from 25-44 with it making up 25.3% and third highest in men aged 45-64 making up 6%1. In 2024 there were a total of 3,326 deaths due to suicide and males made up 2529 of those deaths which is 76.5%2 . 

Depression is also quite common in men with 1 and 8 men will experience depression at some point in their life. Men will normally show more physical signs of depression such as losing weight and feeling tired all the time instead of being emotional3 . 

Men are also unlikely to contact any type of health service. In particularly mental health services with around 25% of men saying they would not seek help relating to their mental health, Men have also been reported to be harder to engage with helplines4 . 

So, any contribution helps when it comes to fight one of the biggest issues that affects men across all ages and cultures. If any of this has related to you, I encourage you to speak to friends and family that you are not doing well or seek help. MensLine Australia is a free nationwide phone and online counselling service that is available 24/7, their number is 1300 78 99 78 and the URL is https://mensline.org.au/. 

Links to all sites used are below and I encourage you to do your own research.  

Thanks  

Ryan Boode  

[1] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mens-health/health-of-men 

[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/intentional-self-harm-suicide-deaths/latest-release 

[3] Health Direct: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/depression-in-men  

[4] Western Sydney University: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/centre-for-male-health/mengage/mens-mental-health