Mental health treatment or counseling among U.S. men 2002-2021

In 2021, around 12 percent of men in the United States received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year. The share of men who have received treatment for mental health problems has increased over the past couple decades likely due to a decrease in stigma around seeking such help and increased awareness of mental health issues. However, women in the U.S. are still much more likely to receive mental health treatment than men.

Mental illness among men

No one is immune to mental illness and the impact of mental health problems can be severe and debilitating. In 2021, it was estimated that just over 18 percent of men in the United States had some form of mental illness in the past year. Two of the most common mental disorders among men and women alike are anxiety disorders and depression. Depression is more common among men in their late teens and early 20s, with around 13 percent of U.S. men aged 21 to 25 years reporting experiencing a major depressive episode in the past year as of 2021. Depression is a very treatable condition, but those suffering from depression are at a much higher risk of suicide than those who do not have depression.

Suicide among men

Although women in the United States are more likely to report suffering from mental illness than men, the suicide rate among U.S. men is around 3.7 times higher than that of women. Suicide deaths among men are much more likely to involve the use of firearms, which may explain some of the disparity in suicide deaths between men and women. In 2020, around 58 percent of suicide deaths among men were from firearms compared to just 33 percent of suicide deaths among women. Although more people in the United States are accessing mental health, barriers to treatment persist. In 2021, cost was the number one reason U.S. adults gave for not receiving the mental health treatment they required.