Men's Mental Health, II.

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1 in 4 men aged 16-24 had self-harmed while 1 in 4 of people with eating disorders are male. Half of males say social media, celebrity culture and mass media create pressure to have a "perfect body".

More males are dying by suicide than females as reports have shown. Males aged between 50 to 54 continue to have the highest suicide rate while experiencing burn outs and changes in behaviour. We should try and help support people's mental and physical well-being.

We all have a part to play and we don't have to ask unconcerned. You can be seated next to a broken person and you wouldn't know it. This video explains depression and suicide more than you can ever imagine and I hope you have a look at it: Instagram Link

Sometimes the signs are not obvious and it might just be someone trying to mask the pain by being overly excited. It's okay as men to talk to someone you can trust and for those who have noticed the obvious signs or something that is off, it's okay to ask twice: "How are you?". We live in a world where asking people how are you is always met with a short answer: "Fine". It's good to ask twice and ask how they are, really. It can birth a lot of emotions and opening up.

Prostrate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer here in the UK and it has been creeping up most often now even all over the world. It affects men over 50 mainly and anyone assigned male at birth can get this prostrate cancer. Reports have shown also that generally, 1 in 8 men will get prostrate cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 4 black men also will get prostrate cancer also. If you ever have history of such in your family, it's advisable to detect it early by going for regular doctor's appointments and not wait until you are 50 because those who have history of it in their families can catch it early too.

As discussed in the first part of this post also, we are used to saying "Big Boys Don't Cry" or "Boys Don't Cry". We have instilled that thought that men can't show emotions and need to be strong every time. Men grew up with the mentality that not needing help or expressing certain emotions makes us weak, and that shouldn't be.

Have you ever seen situation where another man sees another man crying and cringe? We always make it sound like crying makes people look weak. It's okay to seek for help. We need to understand our limits too and ask for help. We are humans after all with flesh, blood and emotions.

Thank you for your time.

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Still me,

My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer.

Olawalium; (Love's chemical content, in human form). Take a dose today; doctor's order.