Page 3567 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 12 September 2017
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around this. Whilst that may be a traditional approach, it is clearly not always the right answer.
Because men do not ask for help, they can end up doing things like turning to drink, taking more risks or simply isolating themselves and withdrawing from the people in their life, which is the very opposite of what those people want to do. They do want to be able to reach out. Without that connection with other people, something like a relationship breakdown or the loss of a job, a divorce or illness can have a catastrophic effect on the mental and social wellbeing of men. That absence of a support network of friends who can help put something into perspective or can offer perhaps alternative sources of support means that some of those very testing events that can occur in your life can have a much greater impact.
Social connectedness is just as good for your health as quitting smoking or going for a daily jog, and that is not an empty platitude or some sort of wellness meme. A 2010 study of nearly 300,000 participants found that stronger social relationships effectively extended your life and massively improved your wellbeing. People who felt socially isolated or disconnected had a higher risk of early death than if they smoked, drank or were in fact obese.
As men, especially older men, we find it easier to talk shoulder to shoulder rather than face to face. It is an interesting idea. I think it is a very succinct way of gathering together a really important idea. I think that kind of equality and common ground in working together on a project, which is the very premise of the men’s shed, is a very effective way of doing that. Whether it is going fishing, watching the football or working on a project, men seem to do those things better than talk over a coffee—not that some men do not love their coffee and will not sit in a cafe for hours—but I think that there is definitely a different style there. And that is the strength of the men’s shed model.
Particularly with my responsibilities in the mental health portfolio, I do spend some time thinking about these things, obviously, and talking to a lot of people who work in this space. I think that one of the ideas that are really emerging in the discussions around mental health is that we have to think of these activities and these issues as mental fitness rather than just mental health. As much as we must work on our physical fitness, we also need to work on our mental fitness or our mental wellness and be deliberate about that at times. We cannot just assume that it is going to be okay. Just as we need to tune a car or go to the gym to look after our bodies, there are things that we must also do for our mental wellbeing. Some of those we can do at the same time, for our physical and mental wellbeing, but there is definitely a space and there is an importance to being mindful and aware of and deliberate about your mental wellbeing.
I welcome the fact that we have had this opportunity to discuss this today, particularly in the context of, as Ms Lawder noted, Suicide Prevention Week. Unfortunately, we do see men over-represented in suicide statistics, for some of the reasons we have discussed today and for other complex reasons as well. But it is important that we talk about these issues. Certainly it is something that, again, as the responsible minister, I am very aware of, and a message I am keen to promote is that we must talk about
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