Why protecting fathers' mental health is so important

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在好莱坞, the image of the overwhelmed dad is played for laughs, with consequences rarely more serious than an awkward diaper change or a frustrated cry of, ”分析!"

但在现实生活中, experts say the stresses of parenthood can pose challenges to the mental health of fathers, with implications not only for their physical health but for their children's well-being, 太.

The exact challenges would be unique to each father, 博士说. 凯特Gawlik, 她是哥伦布市俄亥俄州立护理学院的执业护士和临床副教授. 但总体来说, "the mental health and behaviors of the child are very intertwined with those of the parent,高力克说, who also is co-director of her school's undergraduate program in health and wellness.

研究人员或整个社会并不总是强调父亲心理健康的重要性, 博士说. 希恩费舍尔, 芝加哥西北大学范伯格医学院精神病学和行为科学副教授. "Historically, we viewed it that as long as the mom is well, that's what impacts the kid. But we know that the father has a direct impact on the child's mental health, 医疗和发展成果."

当了父亲之后，挑战就开始了. “众所周知，父亲在围产期出现抑郁和焦虑症状的风险更高,“就在孩子出生之前和之后, 费舍尔说.

About 10% of new fathers experience postpartum depression, 费舍尔说, with the highest risk being three to six months after a child is born. 这一比例不到女性的一半. 它也可能被低估了, 他说, because traditional measures might not fully measure depression in fathers.

"Men tend to mask their depression through substances like alcohol or illicit substances, 或者他们有攻击性行为,比如语言或身体上的攻击, 甚至是性欲亢进, 费舍尔说.

对儿童的影响似乎也很早就开始了. 2016年发表在《线上电子游戏飞禽走兽》(American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine)上的一篇关于父亲与心理健康的研究综述中写道, 费舍尔写道，父亲的抑郁与子女从婴儿期到幼儿期的消极行为有关. 在孩子生命的后期, 研究表明，父亲抑郁会影响孩子在青春期和成年早期患上抑郁或焦虑的可能性.

做父亲也会带来压力. 任何家长都知道, 抚养孩子可能是一个人所能经历的最有价值和最具挑战性的经历之一, 说Gawlik, 四个孩子的母亲. 她说:“其中涉及的事情太多了。. "You're literally responsible for other humans that you can't control."

Gawlik最近参与撰写了一份关于育儿的报告，该报告对722名18岁以下孩子的父母进行了在线调查，调查结果尚未发表, 44%的男性表示感到精疲力竭, 该报告将哪一种定义为“长期的压力和疲惫，使父母无法应对和发挥作用?.“倦怠, 报告说, can leave parents feeling detached from their children and physically, 身心俱疲.

"Another thing that our research uncovered is that a lot of parents are lonely," Gawlik说. 在她的调查中, 79%的父母和75%的父亲表示，他们希望在工作之余与成年人有更多的互动. "And when parents feel lonely and isolated, their burnout also goes up."

Mothers face their own physical and mental challenges. 母亲抑郁会在很多方面伤害孩子. 在Gawlik的调查中, 55% of mothers reported feeling burned out – a level even higher than for men.

所有这些对心脏健康都有影响:压力 , depression and loneliness have been associated with cardiovascular problems.

Fathers who are not depressed can be a buffer for children when mothers experience problems, 研究表明. 但费舍尔, 一个五岁女儿的单身父亲, said that society usually is better at recognizing the needs of new moms than those of dads.

美国儿科学会, 例如, encourages screening all parents for signs of depression. 该建议要求在婴儿出生后的前六个月对母亲进行几次检查，而对父亲只进行一次检查.

与此同时, 许多现代父亲的工作没有蓝图，因为他们保留了传统的职责，并学会了以前几代人没有的方式养育孩子, 费舍尔说. “他们并不总是确定自己的角色是什么, 他们是怎么做到的呢, 因为他们没有例子."

While much of the research has been done on biological fathers, 他说, most of the findings don't seem to be limited to being a biological parent.

“我们需要扩大围产期研究，以了解性少数和性别少数父母的经历以及不同的家庭结构,费雪说. “我们怀疑，父亲们的一些经历一般也适用于非生育父母, although they have many unique experiences that need to be unders太d."

Fisher suggested several ways to support fathers – some on a broad scale, some individual.

在社会层面上，他说，美国的父亲们都很有责任感.S. typically don't get access to parental leave during the crucial days after a child arrives, 当他们这么做的时候, 他们休假的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽比妈妈少. Both pale in comparison with other industrialized countries.

费舍尔说:“这真的让他们在人生的关键时期处于不利地位。.

在个人层面上, 他说, 父亲们需要意识到潜在的心理健康问题，并愿意说他们需要帮助. Men often don't seek treatment for their medical needs, 他说, 而抑郁会让请求变得更加困难.

Men should be honest with themselves if they feel depressed, 情绪低落或焦虑, 同时也“从别人那里得到反馈，人们可能会注意到你看起来和平常不一样。. You might notice you're having an extra nightcap every night, 或者你可能会注意到更多的烦躁."

费舍尔说，专业人士可以提供帮助. “接受评估可以让你知道什么是推荐的，你有什么选择来支持自己,他说, 它并不总是意味着药物或治疗.

Gawlik agrees the culture needs to be more supportive of the challenges of modern fatherhood. "I really do feel like this is an area whereas a society, 为社区, 我们真的把事情搞砸了."

Sometimes, a parent can identify problems and reach out to others for relief, 她说. 例如, 如果父母感到压力很大，因为他们觉得自己所做的一切都是在拉孩子参加课外活动, 拼车可能会有帮助.

Speaking with other parents at those activities can help in many other ways, 尤其是对爸爸来说, 她说.

如果孩子有特殊问题, 比如多动症, “与其他有多动症孩子的父母建立联系真的很棒, because they're going through what you're going through,她说. 其他父母可以提供同理心，并可能提出对他们有效的策略.

现实生活中的联系可以帮助解决另一个常见的压力源:其他人都知道育儿的想法. “让自己一直追求完美是一种不切实际的期望，”高利克说. “所以我们真的需要考虑重新调整我们对自己的期望, 也为了我们的孩子."

她自己就是这么做的——学着庆祝她曾经整洁的家里到处都是玩具，因为这表明孩子们在那里玩耍，有创造力.

她的研究表明，当父母花线上电子游戏飞禽走兽和孩子一起玩时，孩子的心理健康会得到改善，而随着课外活动的增加，孩子的心理健康会恶化. Since a child's mental health issues are a big contributor to the parent's own stress levels, 这意味着专注于与孩子的核心关系的父母可能会看到周围的好处.

解决方案, 这样的问题, 会因人而异吗, Gawlik说, 但尽早行动很重要. “这都是预防，”她说. "Once you get into a burnout cycle, it's harder to get to get out of it."

费舍尔还强调，即使父亲们感觉良好，他们也需要建立一个支持性的社区. 自我照顾——包括定期健康检查和找线上电子游戏飞禽走兽放松——对于确保他们照顾好自己的整体健康很重要, 这会影响到整个家庭吗."