What Am I Afraid Of?

I have borrowed the following information from the movember australia website:

The average life expectancy for men is five years less than women (presently 77 years old compared to 82)

1 in 3 men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime

Every hour more than 5 men die prematurely in Australia from potentially preventable illnesses

Four times as many men commit suicide compared with women

Almost twice as many Australian men die of skin cancer than women, the fourth most common cancer among men

Every cigarette you smoke takes 8 minutes off your life. Smoking a pack per day for 20 years reduces your life by 13 years

A man’s life span is affected by genetics (24%) and modifiable risk factors (75%)

Men account for 70% of alcohol related deaths

One-third of men have not seen a doctor in the past year. 10% have not seen one for five years

More than two thirds of Australian men are overweight or obese – increasing their chances of developing many diseases

72% of men admit to binge drinking – which can lead to long term brain, heart and liver damage and increased risk of cancer

Each year in Australia, close to 3,300 men die of prostate cancer - equal to the number of women who die from breast cancer annually. Around 20,000 new cases are diagnosed in Australia every year

Testicular cancer is the second most common form of cancer amongst men aged 18-39. However, the outlook is positive for those diagnosed with this disease; with about 95% of men surviving testicular cancer

Those all look pretty scary to me: so............ What am I afraid of......

I'm afraid if I DO NOT go to a GP ASAP for a general checkup I MIGHT BE ONE OF THOSE STATISTICS. I'm going in next week. I hope you do too.

Men and Depression

In the past week I have spoken to three men that are friends of mine, but friends I haven't seen for about 12 months. Each one of these men in the course of our conversation told me that they have been suffering from depression to a greater or lesser extent for several years. The amazing thing is that these men are so different from each other. Their ages are different ( 20, 41 and 58). Their incomes are different, their relationship status is different. Their whole life experience is different. yet they each have (or have had) depression. The WONDERFUL thing about each of these men is that they have EACH gone to a GP for support and their GP's have referred them to specialists. One is on medication for depression the other two are not. Two of them are working full time, one is not. The point is : They TOLD me about this, they did not hide it. They were not shamed, they were PROUD that they did something for themselves - and I am PROUD of them for doing so. Each of these men is doing well, each is currently happy with the place they are at in their life. So..... if you are feeling a bit down....go see your GP.

Below is a video from the organisation 'softenthefckup' which talks about men and suicide. It is a short montage of men telling their story. But be warned they say the F word a lot. So if that word offends you - you might not want to watch the video. If it does not offend you then here goes......

White Ribbon day

Tomorrow is White Ribbon Day when all men should take an oath never to commit, excuse, or remain silent about violence against women.

I'll be at a stand outside Westpac on Ocean Street Victor Harbor from 10am til 12pm with the women of Zonta. Come down and swear your own oath.

Talk About Your Tackle

Have a look at this great ad with Matthew Richardson the football great. If you want to get more information go to this website: http://www.talkaboutyourtackle.org/

Another local does Movember

I only recently met this cool guy at Goolwa. David Hammond runs a dads group at Goolwa and I really enjoyed our meeting.

Here is a link to David's Movember site: http://au.movember.com/mospace/1580962

Its great to see so many local men getting involved in men's health.

1 to 1 lifestyle support

Men of the Southern Fleurieu. Have you ever thought you would like Personal help to improve your health?

Maybe you want help to quit smoking, eat more healthily, drink less alcohol, be more active and manage stress. Maybe you need support to change your behaviours and reduce your risks.

1. If you are18 years or over

2. have one or more of the Smoking/Nutrition/Alocohol/Physical Inactivity/or Stress risk factors

3. do NOT already have a chronic disease

Then... you may be able to access the free government program that will provide you with one to one personal support to improve your lifestyle.

If you want more information about this either contact me (Lud) on 0422459660 or... better yet.... directly contact the lifestyles advisor at the Southern Fleurieu Health Service on 85520600. Ask for Cindy Whittlesea.

This is a great service and we need more men to be proactive and seek healthy support.

Movember on the Fleurieu

Check out these local men and their movember web space. Pretty good to see them doing this. Well done guys. http://au.movember.com/mospace/160307

Thanks to Jeremy Bell for passing this on.

Health benefits of tea

Health benefits of tea

Studies claim that green tea has antioxidant properties that can help prevent cancer, however research is still ongoing. Just because health benefits are advertised it doesnt mean that they are true, or suit everbody. I suggest consulting your GP before using green tea as a disease prevention prpgram. Click on the link above to read more.

Male bowel cancer patients need more information about erectile dysfunction, experts say

Male bowel cancer patients need more information about erectile dysfunction, experts say

Male Bowel Cancer patients are likely to have erectile dysfunction (erectile difficulty) after treatment yet according to a study in the British medical Journal men are not receiving adequate information about this.

What is normal sexual behaviour?

As a sexologist I am forever intrigued by the place that sexuality plays in our lives. One of the questions that I often get asked is " Am I normal"? Clearly this is a bit of a loaded question because 'normal' can mean many things. It could mean " Do I do the same things that most other people do?" It could mean " Is this considered okay in my culture?" It could mean " Is my body working the way it is supposed to?" Well.....

According to the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behaviour; conducted by the Centre for Sexual health Promotion at Indianna University in the USA. People identified the following common behaviours

click here for an enlarged picture of the graph

What does this mean? It means that most of us masturbate. It means that most of us try a range of behaviours throughout or lifespan making us pretty normal. WHY THEN is there so much shame or disgust regarding aspects of sexual behaviours? Doesn't seem to make sense to me. Any comments??

White Ribbon Day

Do you know about Australia's campaign to stop violence against women? Well..... all over Australia men are pledging never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women. THIS is the White Ribbon Campaign. To read more about it go here. The reason that you should have a look at this website is because " The majority of perpetrators of violence are MEN - but the majority of MEN are NOT perpetrators" Its time to stop the disgrace of violence against women.

Do men need support?

Pretty broad question I reckon. Clearly some do and some don't. I guess the point of this question is that when a man needs some sort of support it should be forthcoming. It doesn't matter if the support is for help with a caring role, help with dealing with depression, or help with parenting. When support is needed it SHOULD be accessable.

According to ID consulting 7.1% (compared to a regional SA average of 4.6%) of the Victor Harbor population has stated that it NEEDS support with core living. I wonder how many of these are men? I also wonder how many people in our area have not stated that they need support because the type of support needed is never measured?

Men make up 47% of the Victor Harbor population - yet I doubt ( my own personal view) that services for men receive 47% of funding for specific gender based services. I could be wrong. One of the things that I intend to do is map the services that ARE available specifically for men and then provide this mapping to all who request it.

If you want to look at the population statistics for your area of the Southern Fleurieu go here to start exploring