Talking about Mental Health is a massive step and while all sorts of people suffer this month Ballymena Today would like to highlight Men’s Mental Health in particular. Men can find it difficult to share their feelings and for that reason we are sharing three ways which might help you start the conversation about mental health.
Maybe you want to talk about your own struggles or worries, or you are worried about a man in your life. Here are three easy things which could help you to get your worries off your chest.
Three ways for men to talk about Mental Health
1/ Movember.
Men are facing a health crisis that isn’t being talked about. They are dying too young, before their time. We’re taking action and we need your help. This Movember, grow your moustache for men’s health.
Movember is an initiative set up to encourage men to tackle mental health, and physical health worries. By growing a moustache with your friends you can raise awareness and cash for good causes. Since it was launched in Australia in 2003 it has grown into a global phenomena:
Participating countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA
5,232,625 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas since 2003
£443 million raised since 2003
1,200 men’s health projects funded since 2003
Even if you aren’t keen to sport a moustache for the month of November we think this is a great campaign which is light hearted and most importantly it is easy to talk about. Starting a conversation about Movember is likely to open doors to chatting about your and your friends mental health. Click here to find out more at the Movember website.
2/ SAS – Who Dares Wins
SAS – Who Dares wins in a Channel 4 series where five ex-Special Forces soldiers recreate the SAS’s secret selection process. Recruits are put through their paces, in the ultimate test of their physical and – more importantly – psychological resilience.
via www.channel4.com
If you have seem the show you will know that this is much more than a bootcamp. Look out for the clips of the ex-Special Forces soldiers telling their stories. Their upbringing, training, problems, struggles and PTSD issues are discussed frankly and it is a great opportunity to open up to someone close to you. Watch it together and take the example of these strong soldiers who are able to talk about their failures and mental health.
If you would like other support then Channel 4 have put together a help page specifically for issues arising from the programme / trauma and the armed forces – just click here to view their help.
3/ BBC Newsbeat
BBC Radio One have their own dedicated News – Newsbeat. Through Newsbeat they address many mental health issue – most recently looking celebrity stories such as Zayn Malik who has suffered from anxiety and eating disorders. The Mental Health section of Newsbeat can be accessed here.
Newsbeat offer advice and in depth coverage of certain issues which may be affecting you or a teenager that you know. Framing mental health problems within a news story is a great conversation starter – it can be as simple as saying “What do you think of the latest story about Zayn and how he is feeling?”.
Any opportunity to open up about mental health is very important and we hope that these three suggestion can help you to seek help, speak to someone or help someone who is on your mind.
Please do not suffer in silence – if you feel unable to speak to someone you know about your mental health or suicidal feelings then please call Samaritans on 116 123. Please share the conversation – you might help to save a life.
