Talking About Men's Health™

For the last 15 years, I have devoted myself to providing men the tools, support, and knowledge to help them become the fathers they want to be——and their families need them to be. As a former Marine, I understand completely the barriers and issues that come up for men when deployment is over and it’s time to return to the wife and kids.  In honor of Armed Forces Day (May 15, 2010), I wanted to reiterate an answer that most military families find useful to the question of “how easy is it to come back home from a long deployment?”

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The recent observance of Mother’s Day is a good opportunity to give thanks for the care that mothers and other women in our lives have provided, Continue Reading

First of all, Happy New Year!

USA Today featured a comprehensive story on college football coaches and their total salaries (breakdowns of base salaries and bonuses, etc.) in early November. The highest paid coaches in 2009 lead the most prestigious football programs in the country, including Pete Carroll of Southern California, Bob Stoops of Oklahoma and Urban Meyers of Florida, among others. The aforementioned coaches made at least $4 million dollars in total salary in 2009 (access the full list here). $4 million. A salary of $4 million is higher than most professions, but unfortunately the pressures of receiving such a salary can take their toll. Urban Meyer, for example, recently resigned from his coaching job at the University of Florida due to recent health problems, in which Meyer lost consciousness and was admitted to the hospital. Fortunately for Meyer, there was no heart damage. But he had been experiencing chest pains for the past two years. He reportedly lost 20 pounds during a 10-day period around the SEC title game against arch-rival Alabama. A competitive drive and relentlessness such as Meyer’s are shared, to some degree, by many. It is this same drive that leads to burn out and potential health problems. It is important to be aware of warning signs and symptoms and to discuss any concerns with a physician. Take note of changes and the duration of those changes. For example, weight loss in the past 10 days resulting from a loss of appetite. It is important that each of us takes a more proactive role in maintain our health and well-being, both physically and mentally. Physicians cannot be relied upon to solve all of our health care problems; their job is done more accurately and efficiently when we are fully engaged and assist them in the process.
For this new year, I encourage each of you to reflect on what your health means to you. Remember that health is a resource for living. It is our vehicle to enjoy all that life has to offer, whether it’s traveling, sports, cooking, music or the arts. I wish each of you a healthy and prosperous 2010!

If you have any questions or comments, please drop me a line at ramonl@menshealthnetwork.net.

It seems the holiday season starts earlier every year.  Even before Thanksgiving, retailers had taken the opportunity to roll out the lights and specialty goods for a host of upcoming holidays.  In some ways, this can be exciting: many people associate this time of year with favorite traditions, time with family and old friends, and a good excuse to enjoy lots of food and entertainment.

On the other hand, the stretch from now till early January can also be daunting or even depressing for some people.  Getting everything perfect for family get-togethers or concerts and doing all that last minute shopping is often stressful, and tight budgets this year will further complicate things.  This is also a difficult time of year for those who have lost loved ones and wish they could be here for the holidays, or for those who have strained relationships with family.

Through the challenges, as well as the frantic celebration, it’s good to keep some perspective on what these holidays are all about.  It was never supposed to be a time to see how many perfect gifts you could buy for others, or to find out who has the best yard decorations.  No matter what your faith tradition, these weeks are a little sliver of the year that we cut out to be grateful for what we have.  It’s important to take some time out of the schedule for yourself and think about what really matters to you, and what you are grateful for in that moment.  Maybe that’s your child, your job, your partner, your health, or a commitment that you can make to yourself to improve some area of your life.

I hope that you’ll take that time out this holiday season – a time we are told to think of others (a very noble suggestion) and consider your own well-being.  After all, if you are coming to life from a place of poverty or ill health, it is hard to make others comfortable and well.  For some more tips on taking care of yourself at this time of year, the Mayo Clinic has given great tips to prevent the holiday stress and depression:

• Acknowledge your feelings.
  
• Reach out.
  
• Be realistic.
  
• Set aside differences.
  
• Stick to a budget.
  
• Plan ahead.
• Learn to say no.
  
• Don’t abandon healthy habits.
  
• Take a breather.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/MH00030

Here’s a link to the rest of the article from the Mayo Clinic where you can read more about the bullet points and about handling holiday stress.  Be well, and don’t lose sight of what the season is all about: gratitude.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Independence Day.  The 4^th of July is a time to enjoy the big Fs: food, friends, family, fireworks – at least that’s the way it’s always been for me.  This year I’ve been thinking about the personal significance of this holiday, and the recent month that just passed including Father’s Day and Men’s Health Week.  For years, the 4^th of July was the one holiday that my parents and I would host.  Every year we would say we wouldn’t do it again because it was so much work to get ready – but then we’d do it anyway because it was so much fun.  All the family would come, and some friends of ours who heard we had the best food, not to mention games and sometimes our own little fireworks demo.  The star of the show was unquestionably my dad, who loved to host these events.  He would make the melon boat, cook shish-kebobs on the grill, grind the homemade ice cream and dare any newcomers to challenge him at ping-pong.  It made him happy to have everyone there and to see them having fun. 

It’s funny when you think about it, we need a day set aside to celebrate the things that matter the most to us, not least of which is our freedom.  Kind of like Father’s Day, when we devote a tiny fraction of our year to pay tribute to the men who for many of us have helped to shape us into the people we are today.  Or Men’s Health Week, when we make a concentrated push to encourage men to take better care of themselves so that they can live longer, healthier lives. 

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In light to President Obama’s speech today at AMA in Chicago, prevention seems to be the main thing I took away from listening to his speech. Of course, there were words directed to those doctors who haven’t been helping out to our frail health care by “tycoon-ing” the industry for profits, but preventive health are the key words to keep in mind. This Sunday when you are celebrating Father’s Day, you should give your Father a similar Presidential speech on his personal health and well being reform.

On crafting your speech to your Father, your main goal is to urge your father by helping them take care of their health. (If like to joke around, you could say you are “returning the flavor”). I did some research and found “Dads difference in child development:” in the MHN’s library. (http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/ddcd.pdf). I thought it would be great to use the first two bullet points and adjust them a little bit to help you in your speech and things to keep in mind for Father’s Day.

In order to tailor your health concerns to your fathers on Father’s Day,  you must be ADAPTIVE and have problem solving abilities.  Just as when you were an infant and “having a father around during the first eighteen to twenty-four months of life a more secure in exploring the world around them,” you must be around to support them through lifestyle changes or I like to call them, lifestyle adjustments. FOR EXAMPLE, on this Father’s day, let’s try eating sugar free items if your Father has diabetes. If he sees you doing it, maybe he will like it more. That leads me to EMPATHY. “The strongest predictor of a child’s empathic concern for others in adult life is a high level of paternal child care.” Social support has been known to help elderly men when dealing with health issues. By giving good care to your father, you will be able to lower his risk for depression and isolated feelings along with know that you love him.

Of course, he may not listen or comprehend your whole speech, but let’s just hope he can take away the same message I did with President Obama’s speech: prevention. If he can focus on including preventive measures to his everyday activities, he won’t have to worry about curative measures later on, especially in the hospitals. Let Father’s Day be reminder of how he helped you develop throughout the years. Empower yourself to return the favor to Father by helping him to survive longer than the U.S. average male mortality age of 75.2 (National Vital Statistics System 2005 Data, all races combined). With your support and guidance, your Father can change; just give them time to grow and foster their strives like they did for you-your entire life.