Macho and Morbidity:

Abstract

Men in our society, including college student men, both need and fear personal psychological services more than women. For example, twice as many women as men seek counseling an psychotherapy but young men commit suicide at a rate nearly four times that of their female counterparts. Man are also more severely destructive in other ways, including most self-imposed illnesses and injuries, drug abuse, murder and other crimes, though women are now more destructive in "macho ways" than they were fifteen years ago. The thesis is advanced that when emotional needs and asking for help are severly stigmatized by the machismo orientation, unbalanced by personal sensitivity and insight, the macho dynamic is inherently morbid in the sense that it is destructive both to the self and others. This thesis is documented by statistics, highly expressive and influential literary portrayals, movies and sports phenomena. Implications for college and university psychotherapists are noted, and basic re-educative "outreach" approaches are suggested both to make psychotherapy more accessible and to foster more constructive role models for men.