In The Doctors Chair: Men’s Health
I encourage and support people to increase their health span, optimise their wellbeing and live with more vitality.
Health is the crown on the well persons head that oftentimes only the sick person can see.
One of my favourite actors was the late Robin Williams. I loved his off the cuff remarks, spontaneous sense of humour and powerful sense of presence so eloquently expressed in movies from Dead Poets Society to Mrs Doubtfire. May he Rest in Peace. Yet it’s my own childhood memories of his brilliant breakthrough TV series Mork and Mindy that I loved most.
As this years Ambassador for Men’s Health Week on the Island of Ireland, these childhood memories have me wondering just how Mork might have explained the difference between the health of men and women down 'here' on planet Earth while speaking to his space friends from Orsen.
Consulting a basic biology book might highlight the obvious differences. That men have this Y chromosome which determines male sexual characteristics, the surge in testosterone levels during puberty and outward manifestations of maleness (Adams apple, hair growth, and eventual hair loss etc).
Mork might have suggested - correctly - that all of that male testosterone can increase risk taking behaviours from binge drinking to speeding on our roads, accidents and gratuitous violence. Perhaps he would also have suggested that men as the traditional hunter- gatherers in society grew up to believe they are bullet proof and invincible when it comes to their health.
Statistics reveal that men typically spend many years of their lives suffering from a chronic health condition with the ‘longevity gap’ meaning men are more likely to die about three years earlier than their female counterparts.
Maybe Mork would have simply shrugged his shoulders and said ' Sure Men, they're from Mars; Women are from Venus.'
At a fundamental level men often have difficulty expressing themselves. It's not that we don't experience emotion, more that we can find it challenging to put words on how we feel. The result - donning of the ‘emotional straitjacket’, bottling up feelings and soldiering on regardless. This form of emotional poverty can have very negative health consequences including unhealthy communication, toxic distress, and potential over dependence on alcohol or other drugs. Perhaps this emotional poverty results from belief systems and behaviour patterns learned in large part from our parents, peer groups, even our role models. These ways of 'how we deal with stuff' can be passed down the line from generation to generation just like a baton in a relay race. Simply put - monkey see, monkey do!
Because of mirror neurons in the brain (which thousands of years ago kept us safe in a world full of danger and threat), we tend to adopt the habits, attitudes and mannerisms of those people we spend most time with right throughout our lives. The power of our social networks has shown how we really do become our associations.
The traditional macho male image of ‘bullet proof’ invincibility can do us no favours at all - often resulting in the ‘head in the sand’ attitude of ignoring serious health symptoms. The usual suspect of simply 'being too busy' is often wheeled out an an excuse to avoid action.
As a family doctor, I deal with this real fallout from mens health issues (psychological , emotional and physical) every day of my professional life. On many occasions I’ve met men who had various ‘lumps’, or waterworks symptoms or bleeding from the back passage for many months before seeking medical attention, a time gap that can literally make all the difference between long term health and hardship.
‘Know Yourself.’ Socrates
‘Health IQ’ is a term I use to describe knowing yourself in terms of awareness, attitude and action. Awareness of any change in how your body normally functions, your mood and mental health, personal and family medical history, availing of (appropriate) tests. Attitudes that reveal your beliefs and underlying values about health while taking positive actions that underpin the choices and decisions you make each and every day of your life.
Everything is connected. How you think, feel and behave are all interlinked and add up to inform the person you become. Your psychological fitness, emotional vitality, and quality of your relationships all impact your physical health and wellbeing. A healthier lifestyle really can make a big difference.
Men’s Health Week is a timely reminder of what a priceless asset good health is. Be the change through your own words and actions. Be more present, give a friend the gift of your time to really listen.
Be an advocate. Encourage someone that matters to you - a family member, work colleague or friend - to take that first step and see their physician or therapist.
More importantly be an example to others, move from talking the talk to walking the walk. Actions do speak louder than words.
Whatever your 'picture of health' looks like, it’s all about starting. Perhaps by arranging that medical check-up, by moving more, by valuing your sleep, by making more time for your friends, by committing to eat more colour in your diet. Whatever you decide to do, remember that small steps can make a big difference over time. We are all better together. Your health is the greatest gift of all. The best time to start is today. Never stop starting! Oh and please remember the old saying that perhaps a ‘good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.’
Something to think about
Yours in wellbeing
Mark