Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
POSTERS, LIKE the one pictured above, have been placed in local taverns in Iron County to promote an online program called "Man Therapy," to help men deal with emotions and suicidal thoughts. The program features a tongue-and-cheek approach to men dealing with expressing emotions.
HURLEY - Suicide is something that has touched the lives of nearly every person. They know someone who has lost a loved one to suicide, or have had someone they love take their own life.
It's a subject not often talked about, especially in men. In Wisconsin, men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women, and the suicide rate is highest in people ages 45-54. Wisconsin alone had an average of 724 suicides a year from 2007 to 2011, with 568 male suicides alone.
To help deal with the stigma that men talking about their feelings is not masculine, a program called "Man Therapy" was created. The program was launched in 2012 by Denver-based Cactus Marketing and Communications, the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention and a suicide prevention organization called the Carson J. Spencer Foundation.
The program is online, and allows for men to discuss openly how they are feeling without the stigma.
According to health officer Zona Wick, Iron County is promoting the program as part of national Suicide Prevention Week, Sept. 7-13. Sept. 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day.
According to the program's website, it's a place where "men can be men," and helps men, "get off our keesters and form tackle feelings, like anger, stress, sadness, substance abuse and even suicidal thoughts, head on."
To promote the program, Wick has distributed posters in local businesses.
"I spoke to the tavern league earlier this summer, and they were very supportive of the program," she said. "We wanted to focus on catching men in local businesses, so we have put posters in bathrooms in local taverns."
The posters highlight the online therapy program, which uses a fake psychologist by the name of Rich Mahogany and uses the slogan, "Therapy, the way a man would do it."
"It uses a tongue-and-cheek approach," Wick said. "Men don't have to talk to someone face-to-face about their feelings, because some are uncomfortable doing that. This allows them an outlet to express their feelings in an environment they feel comfortable in."
According to the website, the therapy is also for "anyone with a man in their life." A section called "worried about someone," is for people who are worried about their "husband, son, brother or brother from another uterus."
"We are hoping people will get on the website to see what it is all about," Wick said. "We don't want people to be afraid to get help. We want to do whatever we can to prevent any suicides in our community."
Another suicide prevention aspect is drug drop off boxes in the county.
The boxes are available at the Iron County Sheriff's Department in Hurley and the town of Mercer offices in Mercer. Wick said she is planning to speak to the Range Suicide Prevention Council to consider more boxes in the community.
"We want people to make sure they are cleaning out their medicine cabinets to get rid of old medications," Wick said.
If anyone is experiencing suicidal thoughts, Wick advises them to call the national hotlines at 800-237-TALK (8255) or 800-SUICIDE (784-2433).
"Also, call Iron County Human Services (715-561-3636)," Wick said. "Please call. We don't want people to think suicide is the answer, because it's not. Seek help."
For more information on the "Man Therapy" program, visit mantherapy.org. To learn more about suicide prevention, call the Iron County Health Department at 715-561-2191.
