Men’s Health Week last month was an opportunity to shine a light on loneliness and social isolation among men. Healthy Male, a national organisation providing information on men’s health, defines loneliness as the feeling of sadness or distress when your relationships with others aren’t meeting your needs for personal connection, and social isolation as having few social relationships, social roles, group memberships and infrequent social interaction.
According to Healthy Male, 43 per cent of Australian men experience loneliness, which poses a significant threat to their health and longevity. Loneliness and social isolation have been found to have a similar effect to smoking 15 cigarettes a day and to be as bad for your health as high blood pressure and obesity. Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk of premature death by almost 30 per cent.
There is a common myth that men don’t care about their health. But of course they do. What can you do to help the men in your life? First, understand that men do things differently to women: they tend to visit the doctor less often, have shorter consultations, and see their GP later when they are feeling unwell.
Healthy Male provides many resources on how partners and family members can help the men they know, including understanding factors that influence how men interact with health care professionals and how to approach sensitive issues. It also provides information about different health issues, treatment options, and how to help make talking with each other and health care providers easier. Go to www.healthymale.org.au
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