Page 43 - Retail Pharmacy Assistants - November 2020

I n 1971 Danny Whitten, founding member of band ‘Crazy Horse’, wrote a ballad about a man who feels so heartbroken he doesn’t want to talk about his pain. Four years later, the song, “I don’t want to talk about it”, reached number one for Rod Stewart. Since then, various covers have been as high as top three around the world, and they continue to be produced today. Sadly, Danny isn’t with us to enjoy his success. Having battled drugs and alcohol for some time, he died from an overdose within a year of writing what I now see as a poignant reminder of a painful truth. Danny did want to talk about it – and he wanted someone to listen. He was only 29. Danny’s story is just one of the many representing thousands of men that need help and don’t receive it. Statistics for 2020 show globally, on average, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day. In Australia the rate of male suicide is three times that for females. In its recent press release, ‘Movember’, the leading charity changing the face of men’s health said, “Our fathers, partners, brothers and friends are facing a health crisis, yet it’s rarely talked about. Men are dying too young and we simply can’t stay silent.” With its focus on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer – ‘Movember’ is tackling men’s health head on, creating ways for men to be heard and to listen. Men’s mental health and Covid-19 Figures released earlier this year by ‘Movember’, as part of a global study carried out by the Social Research Centre, found that: • Over half of Aussie men (52 per cent) said no one asked how they’re coping during the Covid-19 pandemic. • Almost a quarter (23 per cent) of men said their mental health had worsened in the first six weeks of the pandemic, with 30 per cent noting increased feelings of loneliness. • Older men are the group most likely to have experienced poorer social connection, with 61 per cent of men 45 years or older reporting they feel less connected to their friends since the Covid-19 outbreak. • In Australia, calls to Lifeline increased by 25 per cent when physical distancing was mandated. ‘Movember’ Global Director of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Brendan Maher said, “Not surprisingly, our research confirmed the impact of Covid-19 has hit men pretty hard in Australia and globally. The statistics show us men are anxious and uncertain about the future. “Many guys are isolated and disconnected from their usual social support networks – and the places where men usually go to have those shoulder-to- shoulder conversations with their mates, like going out for a drink or a bite to eat, watching or playing sport, or going to the gym, have been severely reduced. “We know men aren’t great at asking for, or seeking help at the best of times, so we need to do as much as we can to buffer some of the problems they’re facing, now. The programs ‘Movember’ have delivered this year will make a meaningful impact going forward,” he said. MEN’S HEALTH 41 “While we’ve seen the women in our lives doing a phenomenal job at raising awareness to really break down the stigma of breast cancer and make it something that women needed to concern themselves with, there wasn’t a great deal that men could hang their hat on, to focus efforts on the problems that are specific to men’s health. “That led to what has become ‘Movember’s’ foundational idea: using a conversation about moustaches, something uniquely masculine, to generate interest and open the opportunity for men to talk about the area of men’s health,” he said. Getting men to talk about prostate, testicular or mental health isn’t easy. While women are comfortable getting immersed in intimate, face-to-face conversations, men shun such directness. For us, face-to-face conversations are often banter, bravado and bluster, none of which are likely to lead to intimate, face-to-face dialogue about balls or bums. If we are going to engage in deeper conversation, it’s typically over the BBQ or a game of golf as they offer a circuit breaker if things get too deep or uncomfortable. “We know that men are not particularly good at kick-starting these conversations but, once you open the topic, men can engage really well,” said Mr Gledhill. “What we observed is when men have conversations, and particularly meaningful conversations or health conversations, they tend to do it in places where they are standing side-by- side, like at a barbecue or workbench.” The Sydney Resilience Centre’s Clinical Psychologist, Joe Alberts, is a men’s mental health specialist and he explained why men prefer to avoid face-to-face conversations about intimate issues. “As a man, when there’s no option other than to look at the person I’m talking to square in the face, suddenly I’m overwhelmed by the intimacy of the moment and how vulnerable I feel. In those situations what men will do is revert to generalities and talk, for example, about sport,” he said. “However, from a mental health perspective, while men were in a sense reticent to talk about the emotional impacts of marriage and work and children, it’s seems the global and local changes that Covid introduced – which are certainly very real – have stirred TO PAGE 42 \\\\\\\[Lyrics\\\\\\\] I don’t want to talk about it, How you broke my heart, If I stay here just a little bit longer, If I stay here, won’t you listen to my heart? “Men are now much more open to talk about their emotional experiences and the impact of the environment on their emotions. It’s almost as if Covid gave us permission to be vulnerable.” More than lip service During ‘Movember’, the focus is on dialogue and education and Retail Pharmacy Assistants spoke to ‘Movember’ Global Director of Testicular Cancer and Digital Health, Sam Gledhill to learn more about the organisation’s work, muse over the mystic of the moustache, and understand what people can do to support this month’s ‘Movember’ campaign. “The founders of the ‘Movember’ organisation started out on what is now an 18-year journey thinking about how we could start the right conversation with men although at the time, it was the turn of the century and there was a lot of focus on painting things pink for breast cancer,” Mr Gledhill said. RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • NOV 2020