Learning To Keep In Touch
When November rolls around, I’m filled with excitement at the prospect of all the good the organisation can achieve with another year of fundraising, lead by those who want to drive real change for men’s mental health.
Words by Rob Dunne, Movember Foundation NZ Country Manager
But this is also the time that I take a moment to look back over all that Movember has accomplished. From the humble beginnings of a few mates who started growing moustaches, creating connections and generating conversations, Movember has since welcomed over six million supporters and helped fund more than 1,250 innovative men’s health projects across 20 countries around the world and locally in New Zealand.
While the challenges we face are serious, we must keep our sense of humour and a bit of fun at the core of what we do, not to diminish the importance of the issues, but because this is what has been proven to work for men. We try to have a business in the back and party in the front mentality (much like a reverse of the acclaimed mullet that has made a comeback) to ensure that the important messages get to people who can help those who need it most. Men’s health can be complicated and there is a suffocating amount of info out there about what to do, but there are actually plenty of easy, accessible tools at our disposal – five of which, every man must know.
Spend time with people who make you feel good
Staying connected with your mates is uplifting for them and you.
Talk more
Being there for someone, listening and giving your time can be lifesaving.
Know the numbers
At 50, talk to your doctor about prostate cancer. If you have a family history, make it 45.
Know thy nuts for early detection
Know what’s normal by giving them regular checks and going to a doctor if something doesn’t feel right.
Move, more
Add activity to your day, do more of what makes you feel better.
Having meaningful conversations when men need them most face to face (or mo to mo as it were), not shoulder to shoulder, is how we can reach our goal of reducing the number of men around the world who die prematurely by 25% by the year 2030.
We like our goals as we like our moustaches, bold and hairy.But with everyone suffering from a busy work and home life, it can be easy to make excuses not to reach out to a mate. However, we all have that golden hour between finishing work and getting home where we are most available and many of us are potentially wasting this time without even knowing it … Happy Hour, you might’ve heard of it?
This period of time is different for different people, some might spend this time walking home, on the bus, stuck in traffic, sneaking to the gym or even grabbing a beer. Whatever it is, Movember is encouraging men to turn this down time into something useful by talking to your mates.
Pick up the phone, spend some time chatting or even drop someone a text to see if they’re free to yarn, not just because it’s nice but because strong human connections have a huge part to play in the fight against depression. We know that men by their very nature aren’t chatty, they just don’t like to pick up the phone and have a yarn, but the longer I work for Movember the more I believe in the power of conversation.
Men & Keeping in touch the stats
- 70% of men say their friends can rely on them for support, but only 48% say they rely on their friends
- Less than a third of men (28%) prefer to pick up the phone, compared to 70% of guys who choose to keep in touch via social media or text
- More than half of men aged 65+ prefer to pick up the phone to keep in touch with their mates – compared to 17% of those aged 18-24
- More than half of men aged 18-24 preferred to keep in touch via Facebook Messenger or text
- Men aged 25-34 were most likely to keep in touch via text (33%), with a phone call (22%) and WhatsApp messaging (18%) following closely behind
- Nearly half (46 per cent) of the men who had been through a stressful life event, such as a relationship breakdown or sudden job loss during the past year, reported experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviors
- The men surveyed were more likely than women surveyed to cope with stressful life events in unhealthy ways, such as drinking, drugs, taking more risks, and becoming more aggressive
- Men over 40 don’t recognise this is the peak age for risk of intentional non-accidental injury, such as self-harm or suicide.
When you take a look at the stats above, it makes you realise that silence is not our strength and the simplest gesture of picking up a phone and having a real conversation could make all the difference. If you want to make a difference, this is what we want you to do this Movember:
Sign up here and make the commitment – whether its growing a mo to save a bro or taking part in our Move challenge by pledging to run, walk or tumble for 60km over the month, come join the cause in any way that works for you.
Find your “why” (family, achievements, the challenge, lets actually get vulnerable here, boys) and then your “how”, then work your way towards it
The above might help, but it might not and sometimes we may need more. A second or third opinion from a professional can really help, and this is okay too.
Movember has grown up, and hopefully as we get older, we learn. We learn from what we have done right and wrong. We have grown to be substantial funders, but even so, one of the most valuable things Movember will do is get men to grow moustaches because those moustaches create conversations that put men’s health on the agenda. Not only on the agenda for politicians and media members but most importantly on the men who can make the most difference, and that is every one of us.
Get yourself involved, it’s good for you, good for your community, and good for the future of men’s health.