Talking about our health can be a sensitive subject, and for some, quite a challenge. With one in three men likely to be struggling with their mental health, it’s important to make time to talk.
This week – 12-18 June – is Men’s Health Week, and we wanted to kick start the conversation. Whether it’s taking steps to look after your body or reaching out to friends for mental health check-ins, protecting your health can be achieved in small steps.
Our Digital Marketing Coordinator, Ben Shanley, gives us his advice on managing mental and physical health, and, what that means to him.
Ben, what does protecting your health mean to you?
“To me, my physical, mental, and emotional health are all linked; doing something that improves one will have a beneficial effect on the others. I think the most important thing is to keep it manageable. Don’t make sweeping, wholesale changes to your lifestyle. That will only end up stressing you out more. Take baby steps and build from there. Keep it sustainable.”
How do you find balance a busy life and looking after yourself physically?
“The key is to find something you enjoy and not doing anything too drastic. I try to eat well but I don’t deny myself anything I love – particularly pizza and a cold beer! I try to be active wherever I can; for example, I play squash, run with colleagues at lunch, I walk on my own and I train at the gym with a friend. I don’t do any of it in excess and importantly I don’t beat myself up if I miss a session.
“Although life is busy, I always see the benefit of a 45-minute walk over lunch when I return to my desk. As well as an opportunity to improve my physical health, exercise benefits to my mental health too. It really helps clear my mind and focus on other things. I also feel like I sleep better when I’m physically tired. Clearing my mind of any work or personal worries with a squash match or a workout always helps me get some good shut eye; I think sleep is so important. If I get a poor night’s sleep, I don’t feel like I can fully concentrate on work or hit a good workout, so I really try to prioritise it.”
What about looking after your mental health?
“Maintaining and protecting my emotional health, as a man, is a little more difficult. Inherently men are terrible talkers. We can meet a friend and talk for hours without really saying anything at all. I lost my mum to Motor Neurone Disease (MND), I lost a friend to suicide, as well as other personal issues that I’ve had to deal with within the last three years. The only way I was able to get through those things was by talking to people about them. I found the more I talked about the ‘real’ stuff with my friends the more they shared with me too; I felt like we were propping each other up rather than one of us being a burden, and the more I talked about how I was feeling the easier and more natural having those conversations became.
“I’m 41 now and for the first 38 years of my life I didn’t have those conversations, but they’re invaluable to me now. I take part in Movember every year and some of the statistics around men’s mental health and suicide rates are terrifying. I do think the message is getting out there and I’ve certainly noticed it more between my friends. I can’t stress the benefits of talking to your friends and family about how you’re feeling, good or bad. It’s really helped me get through some dark times in my life and I feel like I’ve helped my friends get through some rough patches in theirs too.”
Thank you for being so open with us Ben. Our condolences for your losses. Is there anything you’d like to finish on?
“Thank you for having me – I hope my words can reach at least one person who might need a helping hand. But in a nutshell… Take small steps towards your goals, keep trying new things, and do things you enjoy rather than what Instagram tells you is good for you. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to talk about the real stuff.”
For support on any of the issues mentioned, find out more about Men’s Health Week here , or contact your local health professional.