Caption: Dr Varma Deyalsingh, left, with Mexican Ambassador Victor Hugo, centre, and Dr Jerome Teelucksingh

By Prior Beharry

MEN are facing a public health emergency marked by rising deaths from suicide, homicide, substance abuse, homelessness and preventable illness, psychiatrist Dr Varma Deyalsingh warned in a presentation titled A Crisis Facing Men.

“Men are in trouble,” Deyalsingh said, pointing to suicide figures showing men die by suicide at far higher rates than women and account for the vast majority of deaths. Between 2020 and 2023, he said, approximately 83% of all suicide deaths were men — “four out of every five cases.” Even in 2023, when overall suicide numbers declined, men still accounted for 78% of suicide deaths.

He was speaking at Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men and Boys (IDEVAMB) conference in Tobago on Friday. This observance was first launched in 2020 by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh.

Deyalsingh said the problem was not limited to one stage of life. Earlier studies showed peaks among men aged 25–34 and 55–64, Deyalsingh noted, but more recent data suggests the highest number of deaths is now among men over 60, followed closely by men in their late 30s. At the same time, he warned, suicide is increasingly affecting the young: it is the fourth leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29.

Behind those numbers are very different stories of despair.

Deyalsingh described a 17-year-old from an affluent home who had travelled widely and had “all comforts,” yet felt bored, aimless and unable to see “the need to have goals.” In another case, a 16-year-old raised in a high-crime community where violent deaths were common had normalized danger and did not expect to live long. “He gets comfort from handling a gun,” Deyalsingh said, arguing that even with peer counselling and school support systems, some young people still need sustained mentoring and connection.

For older men, the triggers often look different: isolation, declining health and a growing sense of being “useless, invisible, and forgotten.” Deyalsingh recounted the story of a 69-year-old former policeman who once felt admired and commanding, but now, “bent back and feeble,” felt unseen in everyday life. The man lived alone and struggled to access medical care, Deyalsingh said, including long waits for treatment for prostate cancer and cataracts that further eroded his independence. Deyalsingh called for stronger community interaction for retirees and faster access to medical treatment to help older men maintain function and dignity.

Women can experience similar loneliness, he added, such as “empty nest” distress, but they are more likely to reach out socially and seek medical help. Men, he argued, are less likely to talk, less likely to present at clinics, and more likely to endure problems until they become crises.

In men aged 25 to 34, pressures often cluster around relationships, family conflict, financial stress, unemployment, poverty and unmet goals — the “social determinants of health,” as he described them. Addressing suicide, Deyalsingh said, requires more than clinical services. He called for multi-ministerial interventions involving social services, labour and health, among others.

“Suicide is not the problem — it is the symptom,” he said. “The real issue is despair, disconnection, and loss of purpose.”

Deyalsingh also focused on what he called the changing role of men. Traditionally, men were socialized to be providers and protectors; today, many face a loss of role within the family and reduced status in the job market as women compete and excel. He described men who feel belittled at home, dismissed as outdated, and emotionally worn down. Some, he said, delay returning home to avoid verbal and emotional abuse — recalling the lyric about a man treated “like part of the furniture.”

Adapting to new family realities can be difficult for men who do not see themselves as “house husbands,” even though, Deyalsingh noted, famous examples exist, including John Lennon stepping back from public life to care for his son. Still, some men feel shame doing “women’s work,” or anxiety that a partner working outside the home may be pursued by other men, creating jealousy and conflict.

Men’s mental health struggles often go undetected even by the men themselves, he said. Depression may appear as irritability, insomnia, anger, back pain or risk-taking rather than sadness. He cited studies suggesting up to 60% of men do not seek help. Some turn to alcohol or illegal drugs to numb pain — yet alcohol can worsen depression, lower inhibitions and increase suicide risk. Men also tend to use more lethal means, contributing to higher death rates.

The crisis extends beyond self-harm. Deyalsingh said men make up about 90% of homicide victims and are also overrepresented as perpetrators. He also pointed to a life expectancy gap — about 73 years for men compared with 80 for women — meaning men die roughly seven years earlier on average.

Another warning sign, he said, is educational underachievement. Decades of progress for women — a necessary correction to historic inequality — have produced a reversal in outcomes, with women now more likely to hold college degrees internationally. In many settings, he said, girls dominate top academic performance while boys cluster at the bottom.

Deyalsingh argued schools often fail to account for developmental differences, noting girls typically enter puberty earlier and may develop key executive-function skills sooner. Instead of adjusting learning environments, he said, systems label boys, diagnose at higher rates and medicate more readily. He called the result “not a crisis of boys” but “a crisis of our educational system,” urging more movement-friendly classrooms and more male teachers who may better understand common male behavioural patterns.

He also warned about the “pull of the digital world” and the emerging phenomenon of “brain rot,” a term popularized in 2024, which he said is reshaping attention and motivation — especially among boys.

Deyalsingh’s message was that society can pursue women’s equality while still confronting male vulnerability in health, education and emotional wellbeing. “Both realities can coexist,” he said — and ignoring either carries a cost.