“Men have been left out of the equation altogether, or, when they have been served wellness, they’ve been served clichés centring around the physical,” they write.
A wave of social and emotional wellness solutions for men is changing this – including men-only emotional support groups and relationship-based male bonding retreats.
“Wellness is starting to offer softer, more holistic solutions for men that serve the mind, body, and soul,” Girr says in an interview with the Post. “We’re seeing men being able to embrace the same proactive and lifestyle-oriented wellness that has served women.”
Offering excursions in Snowdonia in Wales and beyond, the company says it provides “journeys both inward and onwards” and “crusades into the depths and magnificence of our collective and individual masculinity”.
In the US, Evryman, based in the state of Massachusetts, encourages men to share their feelings through an online introductory course and membership in its community.
It offers live and online yoga and meditation sessions, and events and retreats. The company says time at the retreat encourages men to “learn to slow down, cut through the noise, and see what’s actually going on … to feel better”.
Hubler says this trend in men’s wellness is coming to life in a wide variety of ways.
“The efforts to bring men together exist at a grass-roots level through local support groups. Some of these groups are purely emotional – think talking circles – while others are more interest-based. There are even communities that combine physical workouts with emotional healing.”
Why have men lagged behind women in wellness offerings? The industry has always operated from traditional conceptions of manliness which eschew the mental and emotional, and focus on the physical, says the report.
‘You will go insane’: mental health eye-opener spurs Singaporean into action
‘You will go insane’: mental health eye-opener spurs Singaporean into action
“This has meant that men have shied away from social and emotional wellness pursuits. Pop culture has reinforced this notion.
“But all of that is being undone as mental health gains significant attention in the cultural zeitgeist – big celebrities and professional athletes are openly embracing it on a scale that’s making it acceptable for the rest.”
The global loneliness epidemic has significantly affected men, the report notes. One survey found that 15 per cent of men in the United States felt they had no close friends – that figure was just three per cent back in 1990.
Men also said they feel less emotionally connected to their friends than in the past, and would not turn to them if they needed help.
The trend is also in line with a greater understanding of the value of good mental health.
Positive media coverage has played a role, says Girr: “From major media publications to celebrity athletes – softening attitudes are coming from the places men have always gotten their cues on how to be a man,” she says.
The boom in male wellness is linked to progressive ideas of what it means to be a man – ideas which include talking about vulnerability and sharing personal problems with other men.
Speak up, guys. We’re all hurting during Covid-19 – want to talk about it?
Speak up, guys. We’re all hurting during Covid-19 – want to talk about it?
“There is no doubt that the concept of masculinity is evolving past the ‘man up!’ era, but there isn’t yet a national or global consensus on what the right answer is – and the reality is that there probably never will be,” says Hubler.
“The more important thing is that we’re having the tough conversations and making room for multiple viewpoints.”
Mens’ wellness has split into two contrasting versions, with programmes that concentrate on emotional well-being versus those that are taking physical endurance to extremes.
The MDK (Modern Day Knight Project), in the US state of California, is a military-style retreat which includes tactical gun training and extreme endurance tests, for instance.
“Your family deserves the best version of you as a leader, husband and father,” says the MDK website.
“When you flip the switch, you’ll overcome the vice dependencies, limiting beliefs and glass ceilings, so that you can become the husband, father and man that you respect and admire.”
MDK is only open to “entrepreneurs, executives and leaders”.
This tough-as-nails approach is not new, says Hubler.
“The physical-fitness-oriented version of men’s wellness has always been around. For most of recent history that was the standard.
“While this has done a lot of good, the unfortunate side effect is that it has created a battle between two extremes: the ultra-aggro versus the ultra-sensitive. This kind of divisiveness isn’t helpful for anyone,” Hubler adds.
Why men really need to open up about mental health
Why men really need to open up about mental health
Hubler feels that an emphasis on ultra-soft activities for men may be as unproductive as the ultra-aggressive approach, as many men will shy away from what they perceive as feminine activities. But she is confident that a middle ground will be found.
“The pendulum often has to swing wide in both directions before we land on a healthy balance,” she says. “I’m optimistic that a more nuanced view of masculinity will make room for the men in the middle.
“Genuine progress is about giving men permission to be multifaceted rather than painting another limiting and potentially off-putting portrait of what it means to ‘be a man’ today.”
“Men’s wellness will become more proactive and more integrated into mainstream healthcare,” Hubler says. “I think we’ll reach a point where young boys grow up believing that vulnerability is a sign of strength, and where it’s no longer considered ‘progressive’ for men to talk openly about their feelings.”