Research has shown that men tend to isolate themselves socially and emotionally, they do not recognize their own suffering, sometimes until it's too late, and suffer from a greater sense of shame when they suffer from psychological problems. In short, men find it hard to talk about their feelings.

The Flemish Centre for Suicide Prevention have observed that resistance to talking and sharing feelings occurs in two scenarios. The first one is that men experiencing mental health issues feel isolated and don't feel able to seek help to talk about their problems. The second is that men who sense that another man is suffering often do not feel comfortable making the approach to see if they need help.

Responding to an already high suicide rate among Flemish men aged 25 to 60, the organisation has collaborated with creative agency Lucy and production company HAMLET to create ‘Reading Minds’, an online campaign with the dual purpose of not only urging men to seek help, but also to encourage anyone close to someone they think is not alright, to ask.

The Flemish Centre for Suicide Prevention (VLESP) - Reading Minds

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