As Men’s Health Awareness Month begins, the death of one of the NHL’s most decorated players is renewing attention on men’s mental health and suicide.
Authorities reported four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux died by suicide on May 28. His family announced his brain will be donated for CTE research, and they hope his name will be connected to research and further understanding of men’s mental health.
Mental health experts say stigma around men seeking help is improving, but significant challenges remain — including for elite athletes.
“Athletes are highly gifted in their job, especially when you are looking at the star college or national level pro players, they are gifted,” said Dr. Sid Khurana, medical director of Nevada Mental Health.
Khurana, who treats professional athletes, said their strengths can also come with vulnerabilities.
“While the brain is great in certain domains, there are some other domains of the brain that are not quite able to keep up. That mismatch creates a stressful state,” Khurana said.
He said that kind of mismatch can contribute to anxiety and depression.
“It’s like having shower thoughts, but all the time,” Khurana said. “And with depression, even though they might be the most accomplished people, they still don’t feel fulfilled.”
Khurana said athletes may self-medicate and avoid seeking help, and he emphasized the issue extends beyond sports.
“You will find almost all mental health or psychiatric conditions are known to be more common in females,” he said. “Now, you have to look back and say, ‘wait, is it because more females seek health, so the numbers are higher?’”
The latest statistics show suicide numbers are higher for men than women.
“Men are much more likely to successfully – or unsuccessfully, however you look at it – actually go through with the suicide than women,” Khurana said.
He said women are more likely to internalize symptoms, while externalizing is more common in men.
“Externalizing problems like anger, violence, fights tend to be more common with males because, whether they want to or not, those things get their attention,” Khurana said.
In the Las Vegas Valley, mental health experts said certain factors can worsen symptoms, including the transient lifestyle and work schedules.
“People are working swing shifts, people are working night shifts; those things independently take their own toll,” Sr. Khurana said.
Dr. Ken Moskowitz, president and CEO of JFSA, says they provide mental health care for people of all ages and work to reduce financial barriers.
“We provide services on a sliding scale,” he said.
He said financial stress can be a major obstacle to getting care, and that the organization works with clients based on their circumstances.
“Giving them the tools and skills that they need to really focus and face some of the challenges that life throws at them,” Moskowitz said.
Below is a list of resources for mental health care.
https://www.jfsalv.org/behavioral-services
https://www.jfsalv.org/emergency-services