Experts Highlight Gender Differences in Mental Health Crises

Men and women often exhibit distinct symptoms that require tailored approaches to support and treatment.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

According to mental health experts, men and women tend to experience and respond to mental health crises in different ways. While women are more likely to recognize and seek help for issues like depression and anxiety, men often mask their struggles through behaviors like irritability, substance abuse, and overwork. The article explores these gender-based differences and the importance of understanding them to provide effective support and treatment.

Why it matters

Recognizing the distinct ways that mental health crises manifest in men and women is crucial for ensuring they receive the appropriate care and resources. By understanding these differences, healthcare providers, loved ones, and communities can better identify warning signs and intervene early to prevent tragic outcomes like suicide, which disproportionately affects men despite women making more attempts.

The details

The article explains that men in mental health crisis often exhibit externalizing behaviors like irritability, aggression, and substance abuse, which can lead to legal trouble, while women tend toward more internalizing symptoms like self-criticism and suicidal thoughts. Men are also more likely to try to 'escape' their struggles by immersing themselves in work. These differences mean men's mental health issues are often overlooked or misinterpreted as simply bad behavior. The article also notes that gender differences in mental health symptoms begin in childhood, with boys more likely to be diagnosed with disorders like ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder.

  • The article was published on February 11, 2026.

The players

Dr. Eric Monson

A child and adolescent psychiatrist, computational geneticist, assistant professor at the University of Utah, and suicide researcher at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute.

Dr. Daniel Amen

A world-renowned psychiatrist, brain expert, and author who has launched a national campaign to reframe the conversation around mental health as 'brain health' rather than 'mental health or illness'.

State Rep. Steve Eliason

A Republican state representative from Sandy, Utah, who noted that correctional institutions are the largest mental health institutions across the nation, with about a third of inmates in Utah having a serious mental illness.

Joe Tuia'ana

The founder of the I Love You Bro Project, a peer support group for men based in Lehi, Utah.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Irritability can signal that a man is depressed or otherwise struggling with a mental health crisis. Men in such crisis 'may be really short with people around them. I feel like they're more on edge. They may feel a drive to lose themselves in their work. That's a kind of 'socially acceptable' way to deal with a mental health crisis, right?'”

— Dr. Eric Monson, Child and adolescent psychiatrist (kslnewsradio.com)

“Especially little boys are more likely to become a 'problem child' of a classroom, and I think that does have a really profound impact on their mental health as well.”

— Dr. Eric Monson, Child and adolescent psychiatrist (kslnewsradio.com)

“You would think this is such a clear and obvious thing to do, setting up support groups that are run by men to support men. It's not a widespread phenomenon. This is something that's fairly new.”

— Dr. Eric Monson, Child and adolescent psychiatrist (kslnewsradio.com)

What’s next

The article does not mention any specific future newsworthy events related to the story.

The takeaway

This article highlights the critical need to better understand the distinct ways that mental health crises manifest in men versus women, in order to provide tailored support and treatment. By recognizing these gender differences, healthcare providers, loved ones, and communities can more effectively identify warning signs and intervene early to prevent tragic outcomes like suicide, which disproportionately affects men.