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June is national Men’s Health Month, and it is important to make physical and mental health a priority. Men’s Health Month is a national observance designed to raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, depression, and substance use disorder.
Mental health is just as important as physical health because if mental health issues go untreated, they could lead to other problems, such as drug use. Talking about mental health in recent years has reduced the stigma and allowed for more open discussions. Quite often more than women, men may turn to substances to self-medicate and dull certain symptoms when facing a mental health disorder. Some of the key signs of a mental health disorder include experiencing excessive stress, worrying or obsessive thoughts, feeling sad or hopeless, difficulty concentrating, experiencing dark or suicidal thoughts, intense mood swings or behavior changes, and misusing alcohol or drugs.
Methamphetamine has been a public health focus in recent years, and it is consistently increasing in use and overdose death rates in Oklahoma. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Methamphetamine is Kay County’s most common substance that contributes to overdose deaths and men ages 45-65 being the highest demographic of unintentional overdose deaths. In 2020, methamphetamine was involved in nearly two out of three, or 64% of unintentional drug overdoses in Kay County. While the United States has seen increases in overdoses among all ethnic groups, men display the highest incidence rate. The American Psychological Association reports that in 2022 African American men have been disproportionately affected, as the death rate of African American men from drug overdoses has increased 213% from 2015 to 2020. American Indian and Alaskan Native men have the second highest fatal drug overdose rate, followed by Caucasian men. Anyone struggling with a substance use disorder should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
Kay County’s Healthy Living Coalition is a community- based coalition of local stakeholders that works together to implement and share community wellness and uses SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework to prevent the misuse of alcohol, stimulants, and marijuana. To participate and learn more, visit the Kay County Health Living Coalition on Facebook at @kaycountyhealthylivingcoalition. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, please visit OKimready.org or call or text 988 for more information and reliable and confidential resources.
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