Each year in June Mens’s Health week is used to explore and highlight the causes and factors behind what makes boys and men healthy, or not within Australian society. This Men’s Health Week, we want to continue the mission to help remove the stigma of men not feeling like they can ask for help and normalise the feelings that we commonly have. We want to find out what we can do to get men and boys involved, engaged, and participating in mental health.
What makes someone ‘healthy’?
Health’ is a dynamic reality shaped by many factors. An individual’s health is the product of many aspects of their life. Many of the problems and issues that impact the health status of men and boys across Australia are as a result of compromised living environments. The nature of these environments is that they are inter-connected and play a role In dissolving other aspects of life resulting in stress and health deterioration.
These environments may include early childhood, education, work, relationships, housing, food choices, transportation, and social connections.
Male health at a glance – table
The table below gives an interesting view into the health of Australian boys and men.
Why is men’s health so important?
Men’s health has become an important issue for several reasons. Throughout life, males experience higher rates of illness, accidents and premature deaths than their female counterparts. There is also a very large stigma around men’s mental health, with some people believing men shouldn’t experience or share their difficult emotion. There are often terms thrown around such as they need to “man up” or “have some concrete” or “don’t be soft”. These views can be unhelpful and potentially harmful, resulting in clinical symptoms rather than feeling normal in response to difficult situations.
Thankfully special recognition such as Men’s Health week over time is slowly helping to combat these view and shining a light on giving men the confidence to step out and ask for help when they identify that a life event has been compromised and is impinging on their mental and physical health and well-being.
How can we help?
With the help of Men’s Health Week, the focus is on increasing the conversation with men about their health. It’s about improving access to and engagement with health services and finding out how we can better support men and boys in the communities.
To make an impact, this week, start a non-judgemental and supportive conversation with the man or men in your life about their health. If you have a husband, son, brother, a nephew or a grandson, normalise their feelings, show them how to cope with ‘normal’ difficult emotions and teach them that their health and wellbeing is just as important as the person sitting next to them.
We all have a part to play supporting the men in our lives. Let’s use this week to kickstart the conversations!
At Arise Allied Health we have psychologists determined to make a difference to both the health of our male clients.
We recognise that the biggest challenge for many males is there to recognise when they need support and understand that there isn’t anything to be ashamed of when asking for and accepting help.
If you want further specialised support around this issue, we recommend seeing a health professional like your GP, one of our psychologist’s or for more help further help.
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Reference: Men’s health at a glance (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)