Mens mental health.

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Tonibe63
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Mens mental health.

Post by Tonibe63 »

A bit of an 'off the wall' thread title you might think but having just finished a Zoom call with some mates I thought it worth posting before I get distracted.
One of my mates is a Senior GP, another is head of Pharmacy at a big hospital, my Wife is a nurse in a semirural health centre and my Daughter works in adult ITU. Over the last week or so they have all expressed the concern about the unprecedented rise in Male self harming and male suicide over recent weeks as Covid19 continues and is not going away anytime soon.
As 'blokes' we're not good at the whole emotions stuff and we tend to either bottle it up inside, hit the bottle or get out on our bikes. The Pub and travel are severely restricted at the minute which leaves us with the worst of our coping mechanisms ...... bottle it up inside but the more we 'think' the worse it gets.
So if you recognize yourself in this please please talk to someone and if a mate talks to you about his 'struggles' just listen and don't just take the p1ss because you don't know how to deal with it-it is not up to you to provide an answer (2 ears 1 mouth).
Suicide is the unspoken killer of men and it is on the increase so let's not make it a taboo subject.
Last edited by Tonibe63 on Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
PHILinFRANCE
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by PHILinFRANCE »

Well said .............................no need for details but been there :|
Tramp
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by Tramp »

Yep good post and it's huge problem.... Dark thoughts aren't good.... And life is precious so just talk about whatever you feel is too much..... Talking helps honestly.... And dont reach for the bottle please..
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chunky butt
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by chunky butt »

Wow, what a thread, our friend in the next village just succumbed to depression, took his own life,really very sad. Good thread this, will be watching with interest.
diggermanbob
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by diggermanbob »

Yes my brother has been suffering in silence for a long time , finally went to Docs and got diagnosed with depression , on the Meds now and different guy much happier , :D
daveuprite
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by daveuprite »

diggermanbob wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:58 pm Yes my brother has been suffering in silence for a long time , finally went to Docs and got diagnosed with depression , on the Meds now and different guy much happier , :D
Fluoxetine can help a lot, once you get the dose right, which takes time.

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/fluoxetine-prozac/
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Asgard
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by Asgard »

A workmate suffered for years and ultimately let it out one night, he knew he would lose the medical that his licence and job required if treated for any psychological illness so was pretty deep into it by the time he got help.
Terrible situation to be in.
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Tonibe63
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by Tonibe63 »

Asgard wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:03 pm A workmate suffered for years and ultimately let it out one night, he knew he would lose the medical that his licence and job required if treated for any psychological illness so was pretty deep into it by the time he got help.
Terrible situation to be in.
Unthinkable unless you've been there.
Speaking to people that have suffered, to the point of contemplating their own existence, the low point is often far far down the road from where they started and just like your workmate they've tried to deal with it themselves until they come to the brick wall.
Thankfully I have not come near to that point but occasionally the enormity of handling my disabled Mums affairs does my head in to the point of once (a few years ago) going to the Docs to be told "you can have pills or you have to step back a bit". Now I know when to step back to avoid going down that route.
Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by GFJ1 »

I tried a lot of self help approaches to avoid going the meds route, incl books, meditation, counselling etc, but struggled to make much progress against feelings of dispair, migraine, irrationality and all the stuff that went with it.

Resorted to seeing the Dr in the end and on meds now (sertraline and propranolol). I am now quite tired a lot of the time, quite lethargic, but my head has stopped spinning, my brain relaxing and generally in a much better place. I think it's given me the mental space and capacity to process things in a much more normal way.

Still hold down an interesting, griefy job, have normal life issues, but things are looking and feeling a lot better.

The hardest part is acknowledging you have an issue, and the first few approaches for help. Once things start to turn the corner, it gets a lot better.

I work in an alpha male/female environment, and now talk about it openly. Everyone has been supportive, which is great.

Talk and seek help if you need it.
Tramp
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Re: Mens mental health.

Post by Tramp »

Good on ya for seeking help.... My problems where and are anxiety and learning how to deal with things I perceive to be a problem when really they aren't.... I now walk away from anything that I see or feel as a threat... And find solitude and quite a great help... I avoid noisy group things at all costs and taking less meds mainly coediene and wine a great help in the brain fughling dept...

Life isn't as hard and mixed up as we think...
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