{"id":33650,"date":"2025-09-22T21:46:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/?p=33650"},"modified":"2025-09-22T21:55:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:55:20","slug":"men-carrying-too-much-alone-says-psychologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2025\/09\/22\/men-carrying-too-much-alone-says-psychologist\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Pressure on men is overwhelming,’ says Psychologist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: Vecteezy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clinical psychologist, Dr. Daniel Hollander, says men often carry more responsibility than they should \u2014 a burden that contributes to the country’s alarmingly high male suicide rate.<\/p>\n

His comments come in the wake of a viral video that circulated over the weekend, showing a man tragically taking his own life by jumping off a highway bridge in Durban. The incident sparked widespread online debate about gender roles and the emotional expectations placed on men in contemporary society.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Ynews, Dr. Hollander emphasized that the weight of responsibility should never be carried in isolation.<\/p>\n

“Men do carry heavy responsibilities,” he said, “but throughout our history, responsibility was never meant to be shouldered alone. Under colonial and apartheid legacies, men were often separated from their families and taught that their worth came only from provision. That legacy still shapes stress today. Ubuntu reminds us that responsibility must be shared \u2014 not borne in isolation.”<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Hollander, many men report experiencing overwhelming financial and societal pressure that they feel unequipped to handle.<\/p>\n

“Research shows that rigid adherence to traditional masculine roles \u2014 being the provider, staying stoic \u2014 increases stress and discourages help-seeking. The burden is not just material, it\u2019s deeply cultural,” he explains.<\/p>\n

He argued that society must let go of the myth that men are meant to endure hardship in silence. Instead, it should focus on rebuilding supportive communal structures that allow emotional vulnerability.<\/p>\n\t

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    \n\t\t\t‘Pressure on men is overwhelming,’ says Psychologist<\/span>\n\t\t\tNonhlanhla Harris<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\n\t\n

    Dr. Hollander believes that the country\u2019s high suicide rate among men is deeply tied to a culture that teaches men to suppress emotion and avoid seeking support.<\/p>\n

    “Men often turn to suicide because silence has been handed down as the only language of pain. They are taught not to cry, not to need, and not to lean on others. Suicide, tragically, becomes the result of being cut off from connection. The way forward is through restoring relationships \u2014 because life is preserved through connection,” he said.<\/p>\n

    For those currently facing life\u2019s heaviest challenges, Dr. Hollander offers a message of hope and a call to reach out.<\/p>\n\t

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      \n\t\t\t‘Pressure on men is overwhelming,’ says Psychologist<\/span>\n\t\t\tNonhlanhla Harris<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\n\t\n

      Written by: Odirile Rabalao<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Clinical psychologist, Dr. Daniel Hollander, says men often carry more responsibility than they should \u2014 a burden that contributes to the country’s alarmingly high male suicide rate. His comments come in the wake of a viral video that circulated over the weekend, showing a man tragically taking his own life ...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":33653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[174,1247,1248,1246],"class_list":["post-33650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mental-health","tag-responsibility","tag-society","tag-suicide"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/vecteezy_depressed-man-sits-alone-on-a-park-bench-at-dusk_55353577-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33650"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33658,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33650\/revisions\/33658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}