Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s health, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. #Movember is coming soon! To sign up to participate or to make a donation, please visit movember.com
A well known hallmark of so-called traditional masculinity is the lack of deep conversations between men. For this reason, the below level of conversation probably feels pretty familiar to many of us:
“Sup?”
“Not much.
“Nice.”
“Watch the game?”
“Yeah.”
We certainly can do the surface level banter about sports with the best of them. But men are far less likely to open up about our struggles with our male friends. Unfortunately, this reluctance to go deeper with our friends leaves many men vulnerable to isolation and makes dealing with life’s daily struggles even harder.
Learning how to do better in this area is better for all of us. Life is hard. We all need to navigate crises, large and small, on the daily. And getting support from our friends is critical to helping each other through all the tough patches. As it turns out, guys’ long-socially-conditioned proclivity to isolate and try and tackle life alone isn’t healthy for anyone.
Research shows that men are way less likely to seek professional help for mental health illnesses. In addition, the number of suicides among men is three times higher than in women. This is precisely why men need more support, more encouragement, and more chances to talk to each other. Opening up to your friends can help both you and them, and the more comfortable we get with checking in on one another, the healthier we’ll all be.
◊
Of course having serious conversations can seem daunting. And being open to these conversations requires a certain degree of vulnerability. That’s where Conversations comes in.
Movember’s “Conversations” initiative is helping to break down the stereotypes of men being tough, self-reliant, and never sharing their feelings to make it more normal for men to ask for help and to be there for their friends. It is also providing tools for men to teach them – in very practical and concrete ways – how to have deeper and more supportive conversations with friends.
How many of us know someone or are someone who is struggling with how to juggle work and family, who has lost a job, who is struggling through big relationship issues like a divorce, who is battling depression, anxiety, or a physical illness, who is having financial difficulties, or going through any sort of crisis?
Movember has built interactive modules that demystify and provide guidelines for how to have these tough conversations. Each module provides an example of a specific type of conversation. For example, “Support a man who is withdrawn and obsessing,” walks through a mock conversation with a friend and provides feedback on what the best responses are and why. Each module guides you through how to approach how to invite your friend to share their struggles by being open and vulnerable about your own, how to ask open ended questions, how and when to just listen, and how to best provide support when you are worried about a friend. The modules also provide background on how to spot symptoms when a friend may be depressed, anxious, or experiencing other mental health issues.
The more we talk to each other – really talk to each other – and the more we learn that it’s ok to ask for help, the healthier each and every one of us will be. You never know, the right conversation might even save a guy’s life.
#Movember is coming soon!
To sign up to participate or to make a donation, please visit movember.com
You might also like:
Grow a Moustache. Create a Fitness or Adventure Challenge. Or Even Jump Out of a Plane. There Are Ways For Everyone to Participate in Movember’s Drive to Change the Face of Men’s Health.
In the course of setting the world record for naked skydiving, Rian Kanouff raised money and awareness for suicide prevention. There are many less extreme ways to help, ranging from simply growing a moustache to creating your own fitness or adventure challenges.
—
Photo Credits: Movember
This post is sponsored by Movember.
About Movember:
Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s health on a global scale, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
The charity raises funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programs that enable men to live happier, healthier and longer lives. Committed to disrupting the status quo, millions have joined the movement, helping fund over 1,250 projects around the world.
In addition to tackling key health issues faced by men, Movember is working to encourage men to stay healthy in all areas of their life, with a focus on men staying socially connected and becoming more open to discussing their health and significant moments in their lives.
The charity’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. To donate or learn more, please visit Movember.com.
The post How to Help Men Really Talk To Each Other appeared first on The Good Men Project.
Original Article
