Why it's good for men to talk

Across the world, there’s often a stigma when it comes to men discussing their emotions.

“We’re taught here as men that a man shouldn’t cry,” says Kholekile, who chairs the ManKind Project, a support group for men in South Africa.

“We’re taught that a man should protect, a man should be brave, a man should be strong and that it’s only girls that are allowed to express emotion,” he says. “So the question then becomes where do those emotions go to when they get suppressed?”

Burying emotional problems can affect mental health. And while suicide rates vary around the world, according to the World Health Organisation, just over twice as many men take their own lives globally compared with women.

It’s this culture of bottling everything up which the men we hear from this week are trying to change.

We hear how friendships and support groups offer hope and how a new style of communication within their relationships is improving men’s lives.

Hosted by Luke Jones with conversations by Mark Lowen.

A Boffin Media production with producer Sue Nelson in partnership with the BBC OS team and producers Akwasi Sarpong, Ben Davis and Angela Sheeran.

(Photo: Itayi and friend Tinto at a concert. Credit: Tendai Maphosa)