Movember, the world’s leading men’s health charity, has become the first charity to use the news push notification function on mobile phones, reimagining the ‘breaking news’ feature for good to prompt the nation to check in on their loved ones.
Sent to an estimated 1.8 million people on World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September) via the Mail Online app, the poignant push notification read ‘How’s your mate?’ – encouraging people to check in on loved ones who may be struggling with their mental health before taking people through to an informative educational guide to equip people with the skills needed to have open and honest conversations with friends.
The charity has also created key resources such as ‘Spot the Signs’ to reveal the key, but often missed, signals that could indicate someone is struggling.
According to Movember, signs that ‘a bro could be feeling low’, include:
- A normally laid-back friend appears a bit on edge
- The usual ‘group chat king’ has gone quiet
- A football-loving or sporty friend missed a game or session
- The sociable, party-loving friend goes quiet and no longer wants to do anything
As well as these key signs, there is also a technique called ALEC (Ask, Listen, Encourage Action, Check-In) to help equip people to reach out to loved-ones.
The move forms part of the charity’s wider campaign for the awareness day, which aims to educate men on how to spot early signs of mental health problems – such as avoiding social occasions, or uncharacteristically missing a football match.
As part of the campaign, Movember last week turned empty season ticket seats at Rotherham United F.C. in Yorkshire and Darlington F.C. in the North East into the poignant message: ‘Where’s My Mate?’. The clubs are located in the two areas with the highest male suicide rates in the UK (North East and Yorkshire). The North East is also the region where support of local football teams is the highest in the UK, while over a third (34%) of Yorkshire residents are also supporters of their local or hometown team.
The charity made the move to heighten awareness around male mental wellbeing after its research also revealed that an informal environment, such as at the pub, or watching a football game, is a time when most men said they’d be most comfortable checking in with a friend.
According to the charity’s data, just under half (44%) of men in the UK have suffered with their mental wellbeing, but two thirds (65%) of UK males would keep it to themselves if they were struggling despite 48% saying speaking to a loved one has helped when suffering with their mental health.
Fewer than one in four (24%) men in the UK claim to be good at opening up about their mental wellbeing to others.
Additionally, over half (59%) of men wouldn’t know the signs to look out for were someone they knew in crisis, and 55% didn’t know how to reach out and start a conversation. Despite this, 59% of UK males said they would be most likely to open up face-to-face about their mental health as when people have reached out to them in the past, 57% of UK men felt supported, 56% felt cared about and 32% felt relieved.
According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), in the UK, three out of four suicides are men, and it remains the leading cause of death amongst men aged between 20 and 34. Psychological research1 suggests that dominant masculine stereotypes that prevent men feeling like they can’t talk openly about their feelings play a large contributing factor to this.
This is particularly true amongst football fans, with the charity’s research indicating that almost half (48%) of individuals in this community have grappled with their mental well-being.
Dr Zac Seidler, Global Director of Men’s Health Research from Movember said: “As the UK’s leading men’s health charity, the only goal we truly care about is to stop men dying too young, and through this landmark collaboration, we hope to equip people with the knowledge, confidence, and tools that could save a man’s life.”
For more information on Movember’s Sport the Signs campaign, and access support tools on checking in with friends, please visit https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/spot-the-signs
