He is a tired man who’s expected to be strong, always – to endure and stand firm. He has learned that fatigue, tears, and fear are not for him, that he must not waver no matter how heavy the burden. Outwardly he looks steady; inside, he carries hidden wounds. In a moment of silence, on the brink of collapse, he swallows his scream, because the same question chases him every time: “What will people say?”
The Middle East and North Africa region faces some of the world’s longest and most complex crises. From Palestine to Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, people have endured wars, occupation, economic collapse, and forced displacement. Entire populations have lived under chronic pressure and uncertainty.
Munir Mohamed Abdel Fattah Al-Kilani, one of our patients from Gaza now living in Amman, said: “After the war we lived through, every Palestinian need mental support – someone who will listen and help raise awareness.”
Men’s needs and realities in conflict and crisis settings are often overlooked.
Samer*, a young man living in northern Lebanon, experienced many of these stressors firsthand: “My childhood was tragic. I had an accident and lost my hand. I felt discriminated against at school and dropped out, but I didn’t give up. I worked and started a family. With the financial crisis I lost everything, and anxiety began to eat away at me. When my daughter fell ill and I was overwhelmed with fear, I broke down.”
Difficult experiences like Samer’s can lead to mental health disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use, and aggression. In MSF’s Tripoli project, Badawi Najjar observed a troubling pattern: psychosis rates were far higher among men (9.5 percent) than women (1.5 percent). Even more alarming, 18 percent of men reported thoughts of ending their lives or wishing for death, compared to 13 percent of women.
Yet even these figures haven’t broken down the barriers that keep men from seeking care.
Hope in Healing: Personal Journeys Through Therapy
Samer, however, decided he needed care: “By the second session, I started to feel a change and began looking forward to them.” Other men are breaking the pattern as well. Emad Murad, 45, from Miryata in northern Lebanon, chose to confront the misconception that had shackled him for years: “There is no shame in mental health services, and they don’t undermine my dignity. It’s treatment no less important than care for the heart or diabetes.”
With mental health at the heart of MSF’s work, Emad turned to one of its clinics for support. MSF provides mental health care to those most in need: from people affected by conflict and violence to refugees and communities facing crushing economic crises. From Lebanon to Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen, MSF offers individual and group psychological support, works to break stigma, and encourages people to seek help without fear or shame.
“There’s no shame in asking for help, and no shame in therapy,” says Mohammed Abakar Ahmed, a man in his thirties from Sudan. “After I started treatment, I felt a big change. I used to neglect myself and hate work; now I feel energized and I enjoy my job,” he added.
The impact of mental health care often extends beyond the individual, reaching families and communities. Emad encouraged his family “because my experience was positive, I brought my children and my brother to meet MSF’s mental health team.” Samer urges “all men to seek mental health services, because the shame isn’t in getting treatment – it’s in reaching the point of collapse.”
*Name changed to protect privacy.
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Related:
- mental health
- World Mental Health Day
