I know why it gets ignored. It's hard to talk about. It's hard to write blog posts about. For some reason it seems like it's in another place. It's not a tangible like cardiovascular disease and cancer. You don't know which of your friends' dad's have had it. Or at what age your uncle did. And because of this it can seem like it's not a big deal. But the truth is it's common, one in ten Canadian men get it over the course of their life, and it's deadly - disproportionately killing men, one every minute.
If you haven't guessed, I'm talking about depression. Yes one in ten men and if you are doing the math, you know someone even if you don't know who. For some reason we don't talk as much about "mental health" Something that is so confusing to me because from my perspective depression, well all mental health concerns really, aren't just about our minds. In fact, no disease or disorder is "just mental" or "just physical."
Mental Health is inseparable from our physical health. So why don't we talk about it? Sometimes I find men are afraid that identifying the problem means having to hash out all the gory details. LIke acknowledging that there is some shit going on in their life and that it's making everything else a whole lot less fun means having to talk about it in detail. But there are lots of ways to heal from depression and talking is only one component. Sometimes men need to be heard, but sometimes they need to run more, or learn about mindfulness, or spend some time having fun with friends.
This month, in honour of Movember and in support of men's mental health, I'm donating $40 from each men's initial naturopathic visit to The Movember Foundation. If you know of someone going through a hard time right now who might be helped by this article, please share it with them. If that person is you, and you want to talk more about naturopathic support for mental wellness, I'm happy to listen.
