Therapy as a Solution to Young Men's Mental Illness

            “All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” Friedrich Nietzsche (AZ Quotes 1)

Male mental illness is a problem that affects all of us, especially these young men struggling with the symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, there is a specific treatment that has been shown to help immensely with anxiety and depression. “This therapy became known as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, or CBT, and is now widely recommended for treating anxiety and depression.” (Mantel 1) CBT is one of the foundational therapies for the modern age and has been shown to give tremendous results. Within this paper, I will show the benefits of solving anxiety and depression. Additionally, I will answer some of the issues with this kind of therapy and solutions to the availability of therapy for people with financial troubles.

            What is anxiety, or even what is depression? Feeling sad sometimes or being worried about things is typically normal amongst most people. Maybe a goldfish died or losing a job can leave people feeling sad. Worrying about prom or asking a parental figure for money can be nerve-wracking. However, anxiety and depression are mental disorders that go out of the norm for most sufferers. These disorders are long-term and often severe. “These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger, and can last a long time.” (“Anxiety Disorders”) This is also true of depression disorders.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective therapy based on the following principles: mental health problems are based on faulty thinking and unhealthy learned patterns of unhelpful behavior, thus if people can learn better ways of coping with them, they can become more effective at managing their mental health issues. (“What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?”) Basically, it is learning to recognize unhealthy thinking behaviors and change how you view things in a more positive light. Examples of CBT in action are facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them, using roleplaying to figure out problematic interactions and learning to be at peace with one’s mind and body. (What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?”) That is the core of this life-changing therapy method.

They are two most common treatments CBT provides to people who are struggling with anxiety, exposure therapy, and cognitive therapy. “Exposure-based techniques are some of the most commonly used CBT methods used in treating anxiety disorders.” (KIaczkurkin 1) The basis of this theory of therapy is to confront your fears by purposely exposing yourself to them. For example, someone who has agoraphobia towards open spaces can eventually desensitize themselves to open spaces by repeated exposure. “In general, exposure therapy is of limited duration and is typically completed in about 10 sessions.” (KIaczkurkin 1) However, a patients can expose themselves more often and work with a therapist to further there progress in this area. This kind of therapy is the hallmark of treatment for panic disorders. (KIaczkurkin 1). Young men often deal with panic disorder due to school, work, and home life. Gaining the ability to overcome and cope with these disorders is immensely useful for young men dealing with anxiety.

The next form of therapy is Cognitive therapy which is based on Beck’s tri-part model of emotions; Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interrelated. (KIaczkurkin 1) The basis of this form of CBT is to identify maladaptive thoughts, behavior, and feelings; and replace them with more positive actions. This is often done with a therapist at first and will train young men in identifying negative behaviors, especially with expectations of toxic masculinity and their self-esteem. For example, if a young man often feels like it is “gay” to play with dolls or attend a theater class, then one can identify that negative feeling and turn it into a good one: Oh! I will have a lot of fun doing these things, and I should follow what is good for me. This is the number one step in tackling toxic masculinity and a plethora of societal structures that have led men to avoid their feelings.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy isn’t only for anxiety and panic disorders, it can be used for depression. In fact, “Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most evidence-based psychological interventions for the treatment of several psychiatric disorders such as depression...”(Gautam 1) The same methods of cognitive therapy and exposure therapy apply to treating depression as well. Depression is often associated with maladaptive thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. Through therapy, one can learn to identify these negative feelings. For example, if a young man is going through a rough breakup, instead of saying it is the end of the world, they can say it start of a new beginning. Small changes in the way we think can massively improve our mental health. Exposure treatment is also great for depression for people who often isolate themselves. Learning to ask for help when you are in a depressive state often has great positive effects on people trying to overcome their depression.

There are some issues with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that is a major issue for people living in the US where we don’t have universal healthcare. How does someone afford therapy? Therapy can be expensive and out of the way for most people without insurance. Additionally, for busy individuals, it can be hard to find time to even attend an hour long therapy session. Young men are often in college, at work, or a plethora of other activities that might make it hard to go to a traditional therapy office. I have one website and app to solve all these problems in one swift swing: Better Help. Better Help is a “convenient and affordable” (Better Help) way to get a therapist. They have a small survey you fill out and they provide you with a therapist to fit your needs. They have over 35,000 professional therapist according to their website willing to help these young men with there issues. A student would expect to pay 65 dollars a week for therapy, and you can get financial aid for therapy which can greatly lower the cost of therapy. It is still a bit expensive, but it is well worth it. Additionally, some methods of CBT can be applied outside of traditional therapy. You can expose yourself to something you are afraid of fairly easily (as easy as overcoming fear is.) Or start writing down your thoughts in a journal to change them in your journal as a mind-changing exercise. They’re plenty of resources both with professional therapists and without making CBT still the best option for overcoming young male depression and anxiety.

            In conclusion, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an effective method for dealing with mental health issues in young men. It can treat anxiety by allowing an individual to face his fears and look at his anxieties in a new light. It can treat depression by changing thinking patterns and allowing an individual to change a negative situation into one filled with more understanding and patience. Additionally, these methods can be applied without a therapist, but I would recommend one for guidelines with plenty of cheap options for people seeking therapy. Making Cognitive Behavioral Therapy the king of life-changing therapy for young men struggling with depression and anxiety.

            “We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” -Barbara De Angelis.

Work Cited

Mantel, Barbara. "Youth Mental Health". CQ Researcher, 01 Jul 2022. Thousand Oaks, California: CQ Press, 2022. 17 Apr 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre20220701

AZ Quotes TOP 25 COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY QUOTES | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)

“Anxiety Disorders” Mayo Clinic. 5, 4, 2018 Anxiety disorders - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

“What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?” American Psychological Association. 2017. What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? (apa.org)

Pangilinan, Jessa. “107 Quotes about Overcoming Adversity & Challenges in Life” Happier Human.com 6,5,2023. 107 Quotes About Overcoming Adversity & Challenges in Life (happierhuman.com)

Kaczkurkin, Antonia N, and Edna B Foa. “Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders: an update on the empirical evidence.” Dialogues in clinical neuroscience vol. 17,3 (2015): 337-46. doi:10.31887/DCNS.2015.17.3/akaczkurkin

Gautam, Manaswi et al. “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression.” Indian journal of psychiatry vol. 62,Suppl 2 (2020): S223-S229. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_772_19

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