I don’t wish to trivialise either men’s mental health problems or the Men’s Shed movement, which might be of value to me, but you wrote “since its inception in the mid 1990s to combat men's mental health.” Surely only the most evil of feminists would want to combat “men’s mental health.” You need to add the word “problems.”

I think that you are being overly pessimistic in saying that “Economic Man is slowly being replaced by Casualised or Unemployed, Depressed Man.” The world is ever-changing, there are far more, and far better, opportunities than were ever provided by “the security of unionised labour in the manufacturing industries.” Part of the problem is that union leaders seek to resist change, not in the interests of their workers or the unemployed, but in their own perceived self-interest as “workers” with personal wealth and power. If the alleged workers’ government of the last six years had embraced change, and recognised that workers’ interests lie in tax and regulatory regimes which encourage entrepreneurial, innovative firms, thus promoting growth in the economy and in new and varied jobs to suit the dispositions of individuals, then there would be far fewer men in need of Shed-care.

An excellent article, Tanveer. At the risk of immodesty it looks very much like something I'd have written. As regulars at this site will know, I have been talking about all of these issues and more for many years and it's gratifying to see someone of your stature doing the same after years of aggressive feminist agitation, which has caused so much social destruction.

I congratulate you, well done.

I thought this was a good article in the main, given that any article highlighting help for mental health problems amongst unemployed men was good.

However, I was disappointed to then see the author revert to the predictable, and boring, subject of feminism causing all evil in our world today.
"For all the public heat about misogyny and discrimination against women, it seems that the Y chromosome is the one in real crisis and at both ends of the life cycle."

What crisis do boys have when they are born in this country for goodness sake?

Why can't we just agree that it is a changing world we live in, and those that don't embrace the change and move on from the past, will be left behind?
If they can't move with the times, then they should be able to access help.

We need to pressure governments to provide more mental health facilities and staff to deal with the increasing cases of depression and anxiety disorders in our society today.

Men's sheds are good for some lonely, mildly depressed men who like to work with their hands. They are not for everyone though.

"Predictable[...] subject of feminism causing all evil in our world today"

It's interesting that you should say that Suse. I agree. It's entirely predictable that a political/economic ideology which sets women against men should come to be recognised as inherently misanthropic.

It's also predictable that some women, from their privileged position as objects of a male need to serve and protect, should come to expect and then demand such privilege as of right.

You are an excellent case study of this and your justification is that women possess a vagina, which gives men pleasure. On the basis of that pleasure (you never mention its reciprocal nature) you demand that if an accidental conception occurs a woman must have the right to choose whether to accept the responsibility of having a child, but the man must have no right to choose, but be bound to the service of the woman and child until the child becomes an adult.

Feminism is flawed in its conception and feminists are flawed in their perception.

It's interesting that you (a nurses aide) think yourself qualified to tell a highly experienced and qualified practising psychiatrist (you know, a doctor) who is also a man, that his opinion of the effectiveness of a program aimed to help men who suffer depression because of their exclusion from the social and economic benefits of our society. I'm sure he must be fascinated.

Of course, I somehow omitted to finish the penultimate sentence in that post. It should have finished with the words "is faulty".

Speaking of predictable, we have Antiseptic resorting to personal insults when he can't conduct an informed response to someone else's post...especially women.

Just because you obviously know very little about disability or severe depression, that doesn't mean you should hit out so nastily.

I am a passionate supporter of a campaign to vastly increase the mental health facilities of our area. That includes both male and female sufferers.

Well written Tanveer. But first let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. It’s not much so bare with me.

I have had some experience with Psychiatrists & Councillors. Some good, some bad, it depends on who you get. Some very old ones are stuck in the 1800’s still. Some young ones have a more modern approach & its all “the man’s” fault. Well, that’s what it said in the text books at Uni. Mostly what you get is, “Ah hum, & hooow do YOU feeel about that.” Scribble, scribble. That’s when most men want to get up & just walk off. Most of the text books used at Uni are Froid & Cant, etc. 100’s of years old & from a completely different era in history. They have very little relationship to people in today’s society. Men want their problem fixed. The current thinking is to just listen. Men need direction. There is an interesting Video out called, “The Nail.” That explains the problem perfectly.

http://vimeo.com/66753575 Watch the video before proceeding.

I belong to my local Men’s Shed. It’s a great place to go & be with like minded people & share what skills we process. We discuss problems occasionally. Things that might be troubling us & eventually find a valid solution. (Note, “Find a valid solution.”) No Political Correctness involved. We haven’t seen much in the way of younger members but we do Mentor some of the wayward kids from the local schools. Some of these kids just need a good kick up the proverbial; some are willing to take note of Senior “No BS advice.” Some unfortunately are just beyond hope.

Ours is only a small shed with limited capacity. We have been promised a New Shed for the last 4 years. As yet nothing. There is a need for more support for Men’s Sheds to help men through their mental problems.

cont,

Cont
I first heard of the Men’s Shed about 10 years ago. I got an email from the WA Vietnam Veterans Association telling of a few Veterans that were sick of sitting around in the Annex like old women crying in their coffee & councillors & the “Ah Humm” attitude. They wanted to actually do something positive. Hence the Men’s Shed. I thought then, “What a great idea.” I didn’t hear anything about it until I moved to my present location in SE Qld. Naturally I joined immediately. I’m handy with mostly Metal & Electrical & I have a well kitted out Shed for, “Anything my wife tells me she wants done” as I’m fairly inventive. Plenty of Woodwork of course.

Juliar announced $15m to help the redundant Ford workers find work. The Qld Rail did this about 15 years ago. What a sham that was. These trainers certainly know they’re on a good wicket. It was $200 per person per day at 20 in a class. You do the maths. Was the training any good? Duh_No! What did it consist off? How to get a job. How to go to an interview. How to dress. How to do up a resume. Etc. No skills retraining. Anyone can set themselves up as a trainer. It’s Government so your bid has to be ridiculously high otherwise you won’t get a look in.

Taneer states that most men will find themselves in a very different world. Will this $15 m train these men in new skills allowing them to cope with this very new world? I doubt it. It will be the same as we got in the Railway.

cont

Cont
There is nothing wrong with change. I, in fact, embrace change. Out of change comes rebirth. The canfields in the 60/70’s went from harvesting by hand to Mechanical Harvesting. Cane Cutters were out of work. The upside was that kids leaving school got apprentices in the Engineering Trades, repairing the Harvesters. They weren’t labourers any more, they were Tradesmen. The kids stayed in town instead of going off to the Cities. Most men adapted but there were a lot of suicides. No counselling in those days & no retraining.

Taneer states that it’s bittersweet for his job. Who can afford the luxury of seeing a psychiatrist when you’ve got Bills to pay & no job? Especially at $180/h a secession.

Alvin Toffler in “Future Shock” forecast all this change 30 years ago. I never did get around to reading the sequel. Toffler outlined in his book the need to be able to adapt to constant change.

I take it that in some Men’s Sheds where younger men are turning up they are looking for positive outcomes. Maybe men, that dropped out of school, & now realize that they need to settle down, get an education & some skills. They come to the Men’s Shed. A place where they’ll get no Political Correctness, & hopefully a no nonsense solution to their problem from men who won’t buggerize around with fancy niceties