Following on from World Maternal Mental Health Day on 1 May, we turn to International Fathers’ Mental Health Day.
Men’s health – both physical and mental – is a vitally important area for employers to consider. Some of the statistics are worrying:
- By the year 2020, a shocking 80 percent of Britain’ s men are predicted to be obese, according to the National Heart Forum. Not only that, but death by obesity-related strokes will rise by 23 percent, and the rate of obesity-related diabetes is going to double.
It’ s not just weight issues that are troubling the male population:
- Prostate cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in men, and according to Cancer Research UK, more than 10,000 men a year die from the disease.
With such a grim outlook on the horizon, the necessity for men to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle has never been so important.
- Men are facing greater pressures in life than ever before, and are three times more likely to commit suicide than women.
Alcoholism, depression and eating disorders are all taking their toll. The need for men to find lifestyles that bolster both their physical wellbeing and their mental health has never been greater.
International Fathers’ Mental Health Day
Did you know that 1 in 10 of new fathers experience paternal post-partum depression?
This rate can increase to 50% when the mother also has perinatal/postpartum depression. And it can take a serious toll on the family’s wellbeing, specifically their children’s. While women tend to turn their sadness and fear inward, men are more likely to express depression through anger, aggressiveness, irritability and anxiety.
Look out for the symptoms!
According to Pacific Post-Partum Support Society, common signs of postpartum depression and anxiety in men are:
- Increased anger and conflict with others
- Increased use of alcohol or prescription/street drugs
- Frustration or irritability
- Violent behaviour
- Significant weight gain or loss
- Isolation from family and friends
- Being easily stressed
- Impulsiveness or risk-taking (this kind of behaviour can include reckless driving or extramarital affairs)
- Feeling discouraged; cynicism
- Increase in complaints about physical problems, like headaches, digestion problems or pain
- Problems with concentration or motivation
- Loss of interest in work, hobbies and/or sex
- Working constantly
- Concerns about productivity and functioning at work or school
- Fatigue
- Feeling sad or crying for no reason
- Conflict between how you feel you should be as a man and how you are
- Thoughts of suicide or death
Download our full helpsheet on men’s health today.
Or for more information on how CiC can help support you, a loved one or your colleagues, please contact us today or call 020 7937 6224.