Assura : How can we help men talk about their health?

For Mental Health Awareness Week, we spoke to several charities about the work that they do around the country. One was Movember, which - like us - is an official partner of the Rugby League World Cup and one of the largest men's charities in the UK. For Men's Health Awareness Week, we thought we'd share with you some highlights of our fascinating session with the Movember team and how we can all help men's health.

On average, men die six years older than women. It used to be for explainable reasons such as war, or more dangerous industrial jobs but these days, the reasons are more complex. Movember believe that's partly because men aren't always talking about their health challenges, and Movember is working to change that.
Why is talking about mental health so important?

'Globally, on average, one man dies by suicide very minute of every day.'

'Movember is all about lowering barriers, getting men to talk, getting them to open up and it's really important to do this before reaching that kind of critical point and it's something that we can do something about. One man, every minute, somewhere in the world, takes their own life - nearly half a million each year.

'A poll in 2019 showed that men are terrified about admitting they've got a kind of struggle. One in three men fear their job may be at risk if they discussed their mental health at work and 40% believe discussing their issues could cause them to miss out on a promotion. The main thing that we took away from this is that starting the conversation is key so that it becomes normal to talk about our mental health. 49% of men worry their colleagues have made negative comments about them behind their back, which isn't helping create an open dialogue.
'70% of men say that their friends can rely on them for emotional support, but only 48% say they can rely on their friends for support. This again feeds into the perception that men need to pull themselves together and all those phrases, They aren't very helpful and create a language that doesn't support people being open about their mental health.'
How has COVID affected men's health?

'COVID has made the problem worse, but for many people who didn't realise or relate as much to people with mental health issues, COVID has really brought it home for them. During the pandemic, twice as many adults in Britain reported symptoms of depression, compared with this time last year. A survey carried out during Mental Health Awareness Week showed that 80% of men admitted they were having a difficult time, but only 46% of men asked them if they were struggling.

'If no other statistic speaks to the fact that women are better than men at talking then this is it.'

What we took away from our session.

• Any communication is a start. It doesn't need to be face to face - it could be a telephone call or a voice message. Voice messaging is a fantastic way to hear a familiar voice, but you're not having to respond straight away: you can actually just take the time to think about how you want to respond and send a voice message back.
• Trying to change society's way of thinking is hard, but we can all help that by using language that creates an opportunity for people to talk about their mental health. Reducing the amount of toxic masculinity is a big job, but something we can all help with - one conversation at a time.
• Check in with your friends regularly, even the ones that seem okay.