Men’s health week
By Arshia Verma
June 13-19 was International Men’s Health Week this year! In an effort to increase awareness and reduce the stigma around male health issues, including physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, hundreds of organizations around the world are coming together to offer support. This week focuses on encouraging men and boys to perform frequent self-exams and undergo the proper screenings to promote early detection of disease. As our society as a whole often neglects men in the mental and emotional spheres of healthcare, there has been a huge push in recent years for attention to be given to fostering healthy environments for men.
Around the United States this week, health departments have been providing extra reminders to schedule annual checkups and screenings (for HIV, prostate cancer, etc.), stay active, make healthy dietary choices, and focus on building a sustainable mental health routine that helps relieve some of the stress of daily life. Having this week of awareness helps bring about a sense of community and diminishes the stigma and silence surrounding men’s health. This ultimately pushes for more discussion about male mortality, high male suicide rates, and preventable disease. One of the main goals of Men’s Health Week is to normalize the use of professional help to combat mental health struggles. This is even more important after the pandemic, as many men who were responsible for earning money for their family’s well-being neglected their own health because of the stressful circumstances.
Lastly, this week intends to spread awareness among young boys as they grow up because reaching children early on can inculcate values of healthy living, open communication, and self-awareness. This Men’s Health Week, please encourage and take part in an open dialogue about the health and wellbeing of men and boys!
If you, or someone you love, are suffering from a mental illness, please seek help. The US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. For free, anonymous 24/7 crisis support in the US, you can text TALK to 741741. International suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Additionally, beginning July 16, 2022, “988” will route calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.