What is men’s health week?
From Monday 13th of June to Sunday 19th June 2022, we want to shine a light on the beautiful and loving men in your life. It is an opportunity to highlight the importance of health for our boys and men, and to promote and support their health and wellbeing. This is not only focusing on their physical health, but also their mental and emotional wellbeing.
Men tend to disregard their own wellness and let it fall by the wayside. This is even more prevalent when considering men’s mental health. There seems to be an unwarranted stigma about men having to be strong, and not being allowed to show any ‘weakness’ – as though having emotions is weak. In reality, as humans, we all feel emotions! Good and bad, happy and sad, and all of the other wonderful emotions in- between.
Stats
Physical health
- Men live 4.4 years less than women
- The leading three reasons for decreased life span are: cardiovascular disease; suicide; and motor vehicle accidents
- Only 30% of men’s overall health is determined by their genetics
- Men who have 7-8 hours of sleep on a regular basis have a roughly 60% less chance to die from heart attack then those sleeping fewer than 5 hours per night
- Drinking 10 or more drinks a week almost doubles your change of developing type 2 diabetes
- 70% of developmental and learning disabilities affect boys
Mental health
- Inactive men are 60% more likely to suffer from depression
- 1 in 8 men will experience depression at some stage of their lives
- 1 in 5 men will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives
- Men make up 7 in 9 suicides every single day in Australia
- The number of men who die by suicide in Australia every year is nearly double the national road toll
What you can do for yourself!
Improving your mental health and wellbeing can be done in many different and small ways that can all add up and make a big difference:
Eat Well
- Make sure you eat a varied diet with plenty of fresh fruits & veggies, and stay hydrated!
- Get plenty of sleep
- Allow your body to recover before hammering it again tomorrow
- Exercise regularly
- Consider taking a stroll with the family or friends, or even by yourself if that’s what you’re feeling
- Spend time with your friends and family
- Surround yourself with people you love
- Talk about how you feel with people you trust
- We don’t need to bottle everything up, it’s important to talk
- Make time for yourself to engage in activities you enjoy
- Plan a day or time in the week for you – play around in the shed or have a hit of golf
- Take time to relax
- At the end of the day let yourself turn off and rest your mind and body
- Engage in your community
- Being a part of the community can be very rewarding, and you can even meet new mates!
If you’re finding these things difficult to do, or you feel like you need additional support, there are places that you can reach out to for some professional support:
Your local GP, psychologist, or counsellor
Head to Health – a guide to digital mental health services from some of Australia’s most trusted mental health organisations
https://www.headtohealth.gov.au
MensLine Australia (online counselling and forum for men) – call 1300 78 99 78
https://mensline.org.au/
Dads In Distress (peer support for separated dads) – 1300 853 437
https://parentsbeyondbreakup.com/dids/
SANE Australia (people living with a mental illness) – call 1800 187 263 or chat online
https://www.sane.org/
If it’s a crisis then you can find help at:
Lifeline (anyone having a personal crisis) – call 13 11 14 or chat online
https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Suicide Call Back Service (anyone thinking about suicide) – call 1300 659 467
https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/