Boys Don't Cry

National Men’s Health Week (NMHW) takes place from the 9th-15th June 2008. This year the focus will be on health and emotional wellbeing, including Health & Safety in the Work Place.

Tina Deas a counsellor at A Time To Talk Counselling and Coaching Service Swindon says “We live in a culture that stresses that little boys should suppress their emotions and as they develop, boys become defensive, independent and less emotionally expressive. Aggression and anger become the primary ways in which emotions are expressed. Our culture reinforces the belief that men should be strong, successful, in control and capable of handling problems without help and that they should hide certain emotions. To show vulnerability is considered taboo and to have problems with anxiety or depression is considered weak.”

Men are not invincible. Like women they have experiences in life that cause emotional pain such as broken relationships, they lose their jobs, they perhaps experience the death of someone close. Sometimes the emotions that these life experiences cause feel unfamiliar and frightening and they can feel unable to cope with them. Depression may even show as physical symptoms such as lethargy, interrupted sleep patterns or lowered libido.

Annette Moore from A Time To Talk Counselling and Coaching Service adds “Some men find it particularly hard to talk about their feelings and it is widely acknowledged that they can be reluctant to seek or receive professional help for problems such as stress, anxiety and depression.”

Depression occurs as often in men as in women. Suicide is the most common cause of death in young men under the age of 35 and overall 75% of suicides in the UK are by men. Unemployment can lead to men developing depression – often within six months of losing their job. Men may misuse addictive drugs, especially alcohol in an attempt to deal with emotional health problems.

However help can be found through a variety of means such as diet, exercise, medication and counselling.

Tina Griffiths from A Time To Talk Counselling and Coaching Service says “Counselling can offer the chance to build a trusting, caring, confidential environment within which it feels safe to start looking at difficult thoughts and feelings, where they can be accepted instead of denied.”

If you feel that any of the above relates to you or someone you care about and would like some professional help please contact A Time To Talk Counselling and Coaching Service based at the Health Hydro in Swindon telephone 07722 023950 e-mail: enquiries@attt.co.uk