WHAT many dads really need this Father’s Day is less stress and depression. But first they need to talk about their problems, says the Men’s Health Forum. Lisa Salmon reports.

Discussing your mental health, especially if you are struggling with low moods and depression, is never easy. But on the whole, women are far better at talking to one another about their mental wellbeing than men.

This is the focus of this year’s Men’s Health Week, which runs from June 10 to 16 in the week leading up to Father’s Day.

One in six people – both men and women – will experience a mental health problem at some stage in their life, and research by the mental health charity Mind has found that 37 per cent of men are feeling worried or low.

Yet their wives, partners, other relatives and friends may have no idea there’s a problem, because so many men keep problems to themselves.

Not talking about it or seeking help though isn’t doing them any favours – in fact, it usually makes their problems far worse, as three in four suicides are by men, and 73 per cent of people who go missing are men.

“I think men are generally less prompt and less willing to seek help about their mental health than women,” says Dr John Chisholm, chairman of the Men’s Health Forum which organises Men’s Health Week.

“It’s not that mental health issues are more common in men, it’s what men do about them that’s the problem.”

Bridget O’Connell, of Mind, stresses that it’s important to distinguish temporarily feeling sad or miserable with true depression or anxiety.

“Everyone occasionally feels low but, if the feelings are interfering with daily living and don’t go away after a couple of weeks, or if they come back over and over again, for a few days at a time, it could be a sign you have depression,” she said.

Symptoms of depressioninclude feeling low-spirited, restless, agitated,helpless,irritable, unable to relate to other people, and gainingno pleasure from thingsusually enjoyed.

She recognises that many people are fearful of the stigma that may surround mental health issues, but stresses that seeking help earlier rather than later is crucial.

“Men have told us they feel health services are more geared towards women, which can put them off seeking help,” she says.

“But suffering in silence only makes things worse and has the potential to be fatal.”

Visitmalehealth.co.uk or mind.org.uk for information.