Why Men Don't Go to the Doctor: The Effects of Societal Pressure on Men's Health

"Be a man." This is the motto for all the men in our society today. But what does it mean to be a man? One glimpse at the images portrayed by media would tell us that men are supposed to be that "macho guy who is not afraid of anything." Indeed, men have been finding it hard to live up to this image that the society is forcing upon them, making them resort to drastic measures that even come to the extent of making them sacrifice their health.

There are many illnesses that are becoming pressing problems for men. One of these is heart disease which increasingly claims the lives of men every year at an alarming rate. There are also many women who develop this disease, but the fatality rate for both genders differ largely because men are more likely to ignore this disease than women. This is also true for all types of diseases, even those that are exclusive to men such as prostate and testicular cancer.

Men undoubtedly would give lots of different reasons as to why they don't want to consult a doctor, but what is more disconcerting to find is that one important reason involves the masculine image of being self-reliant and emotionally detached person that they try to adopt because of the pressure that they feel from the standards of society, which is something that many men are not consciously aware of. Going to the doctor for complaints about physical ailments is simply not acceptable because it is a sign of weakness-a psychological problem that doctors are trying to solve.

Are we sacrificing men's health for masculine ideology? Society needs to rethink their values and reshape the image of man in order to save the lives of millions of men who are suffering from the same psychological problem that is causing their early deaths.