International Men’s Health Week is an event that is celebrated every year in various countries for a week and leads up to as well as includes Father’s Day. The campaign aims to increase awareness about preventable mental and physical health problems as well as early detection and treatment of the conditions in men and boys. This year, the week runs from 10-16 June.
This is the period during which men are encouraged to talk about their health issues with anyone they feel comfortable. A study had found that only about 7% of men talk about facing issues in the bedroom, relationship concerns and urinary tract issues. The others often choose to suffer in silence. Many men also stay mum due to certain cultural norms, “men are not supposed to show weaknesses and they must act tough.” Plus, plenty of times men also choose to refrain from discussing issues due to lack of trust, lack of self-care and lack of awareness. Here are some tips that might help men keep a check on their health.
General health: Firstly, men need to start getting regular check-ups. Most of them delay this process until they feel that there's something really wrong that needs to be checked out. The faster you identify the health issues, the easier it will be to treat them.
Mental health: Most men tend to keep mental issues to themselves and instead of talking about them they keep their feelings hidden. This can lead to an unhealthy development of those mental issues and as much as they try to suppress these emotions, they're going to surface at one point or the other. So, ensure that you confide in whomever you feel the most comfortable with whether it's a friend, or family or a doctor. They'll help you figure out the right plan to help get your health back on track.
Physical health: Most obese men don't realise just how dangerous the condition can be for them. If you want to make some serious changes to your weight the first thing you need to do is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Team exercise with the right diet and you'll see changes in no time.
Sexual health: Much like mental health problems, men don't talk about facing sexual problems either. But what they don't understand is that these issues need to be treated properly. One can start by opting for frequent self-examinations and by making oneself aware of sexual health. Apart from this, one can also go to a doctor to figure out what appropriate methods can be used to deal with the problems.
The bottom line is that men need to be made aware that it's okay to talk about their issues and to deal with them. The more they feel like they can discuss these issues openly, the more inclined they will be to talk about such topics.
