Page 16 - Demo

14 EXCLUSIVE FEATURE FROM PAGE 13 For Steve, exercise and keeping fit have helped him with maintaining his mental health. “To get to the gym when you’re feeling down, when you’re feeling low \[is important\],” he said. “It’s important \[during tough times\] to keep life as normal as possible because that way your mental health will remain ... You don’t have to \[exercise\] for an hour in your apartment or house. Do 15 minutes, have a break and go back and do \[another\] 15 minutes. As long as you’re doing something, it’ll release \[endorphins\]. It stimulates you.” He says one of the ways to maintain normality, especially during the self-isolation and physical distancing now required during the pandemic, is to support local businesses where possible and within health safety guidelines. “At the moment, with COVID-19, fortunately some small businesses, \[such as\] barbershops and hair salons, we’re being considered as a necessary service,” he said. “If there are individuals who are dubious about coming in and getting \[their\] hair done, please understand, especially in terms of my business, we’re putting social distances in place. We’ve got hand sanitisers everywhere. There’s 1.5 if not two metres between each of my barbers in my shop. “I’ve noticed a few posts on social media where people are feeling down on themselves because they can’t get their hair done. At the end of the day, I think everybody needs to understand that, as terrible as COVID-19 is, I think in certain aspects of your life, you should try and maintain some sort of normality.” Steve says the look-good, feel-good mentality absolutely rings true for him. “Oh 100 per cent,” he said. “For me, I love, love, love having my hair cut. I just love it. It’s just something that makes me feel good.” Steve suggests that, rather than spending “mindless” hours watching movies or TV shows on streaming services and feeling down because our regular lifestyle luxuries are on hold, we should visit the local barbershop or hair salon for a feel-good perk-up. “Do some research in terms of what your particular barbershop or hairdressing salon has put in place regarding COVID-19 safety, and if you feel comfortable, I encourage you to get out and get a haircut,” he said. “It’s helping the small businesses out there, and I think it’ll help you as well, in terms of getting some fresh air, getting your hair done and coming away feeling positive and good about yourselves.” A mission close to Steve’s heart, and something he’s clearly passionate about, is men’s mental health, a health issue that has a significant impact on society, and one that Steve agrees needs to be more in the spotlight for increased awareness. “There are a lot of guys out there that are very nervous, and very much ‘I’m the man and I shouldn’t talk about my feelings’,” he said. “Well, hear it from me: you should talk about your feelings ... you should openly talk about your feelings, whether it’s to your best mate, your family ... even to a complete stranger, if you feel that you need to. “Holding stuff in, that’s not going to be healthy for you and it’s not going to be healthy for anyone else around you either because people are going to see you, perhaps, in a different light to what they know you. “I got quite emotional throughout the show \[MAFS\] about certain aspects you didn’t even see. And I don’t particularly want to go into that too much, but I wanted them to show it \[my emotional side\] because ... for me, I wanted guys out there to see me upset. I wanted guys to understand that this guy is on a national TV show and he’s \[revealing\] his feelings.” For Steve, this was his way of shinning the spotlight brighter on the need for men to understand that it’s OK to speak about their feelings – that it’s OK to say that you’re not OK and to reach out for the help and support needed. “This is a bit of a cliché,” Steve said, “but if I could have helped even one person ... \[to seek\] help because of that \[his experience on MAFS\], then that would have made me an extremely happy man.” He added: “If anybody wants to talk to me, if they’re having a hard time or if they’re going through difficulty, I’d urge them to message me on my Instagram account and I’ll get back to them as “To get to the gym when you’re feeling down is important. It’ll release endorphins. It stimulates you.” RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • MAY 2020