Men’s Health Week this year runs from June 14th to June 21st and includes the CAN DO Challenge on the Monday through to the Friday, there being five ways to wellbeing and the five days of the week.
Everyone’s mental health has been challenged by the pandemic and the resultant lockdowns, and although it is hoped that the worst of it is over, there is still cause for concern. There is a wide gap between the high number of men who die from suicide and those who look for treatment for anxiety and depression. There has also been a large rise in youth unemployment and young men at school and university have been hit with home-schooling.
In addition, some groups of male-dominated workers, such as taxi drivers for instance, have suffered badly from the loss of income and have not had much in the way of support from the government. Furthermore, many men, such as those working in construction for example, have jobs which cannot be done from home which has meant that they have been at greater risk of Covid-19. All of which has led to more mental ill health.
The UK government has already committed to a Women’s Health Strategy and campaigners are saying that it is now the ideal time to launch a Men’s Health Strategy. One thing that can contribute to this is acupuncture for anxiety in London which is proven to help to relieve stress.
The CAN DO Challenge is as follows:
- Connect – connect with other people (e.g. call an old friend you haven’t since before lockdown) #connectmonday
- (Be) Active – move your body (e.g. go for a run/walk/swim/dance/etc) #activetuesday
- Notice – take notice of the environment around you (e.g. turn off your phone for an hour) #noticewednesday
- Discover – learn something new (e.g. read a book you haven’t read before) #discoverthursday
- Offer (or give) – do something for someone else (e.g. volunteer for a local community group) #offerfriday
The Men’s Health Forum is also offering a brand-new interactive manual called Man MOT for the Mind because it says that, however good or bad we feel, there is always a lot that we “CAN DO” to improve mental well-being. This is what they call a mental tool-kit that provides checks and challenges that will keep a man feeling good or even take him to a better place. The manual is only 20 pages long and is based on the five principles in the CAN DO Challenge, and it can be ordered from the Men’s Health Forum site at https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/man-mot-mind.
