Prince William: suicide callout shed light on men"s mental health

The Duke of Cambridge has spoken of his shock at being called out to his first suicide as an air ambulance pilot in a joint interview with his brother, Prince Harry, on tackling masculinity and mental health issues.

Prince William said the “tipping point” for him in understanding how men struggle to deal with mental health problems came with his work with the East Anglian air ambulance.

“My first callout was to a male suicide and I was told there were five suicides or attempted suicides every day in East Anglia alone. When I looked into it I was shocked by how bad this situation is – suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK – which is absolutely appalling.”

He praised grime star Stormzy, sportsmen Rio Ferdinand and Freddie Flintoff, and rapper Professor Green for publicly talking about pressures on their mental health.

The interview with the princes is part of a campaign to encourage better communication about mental health issues. It follows Harry’s revelations that he sought counselling after coming close to a breakdown over the death of his mother and had two years of “total chaos” that led him to process his grief.

The interview, with CALMzine, published by the Campaign Against Living Miserably, is for a special edition before the London Marathon, during which the princes and the Duchess of Cambridge will cheer on runners taking part for their mental health campaign, Heads Together, which is the charity of the year for the marathon.

Talking about how men often feel it was a sign of weakness to discuss their mental health, William said: “There may be a time and a place for the stiff upper lip, but not at the expense of your health. The recent interview by Stormzy about his depression was incredibly powerful and will help young men feel that it’s a sign of strength to talk about and look after your mind as well as your body.

He said he hoped subsequent generations would find it more normal to talk about their emotions. “Catherine and I are clear that we want both George and Charlotte to grow up feeling able to talk about their emotions and feelings.”

Harry, who served two tours of Afghanistan with the army and who actively campaigned to raise awareness of mental health issues within the military, believed progress was being made.

“The military is a complex picture as on one hand there is an incredible sense of brotherhood and belonging between you and your mates,” he told the magazine. “You’ll do anything for each other – scrub each other’s boots, drag each other through the mud – anything.

Stormzy’s appearance on Channel 4 news to discuss his battle with depression has been described as ‘a game changer’. Photograph: Ian West/PA

“Yet, on the other hand, this support for each other hasn’t, up to now, included looking after how your buddy is feeling and thinking about things. When you’re serving you look after your physical health, your training, your equipment, but not your head.

“There’s definitely been a misplaced sense of pride has got in the way of the people in the military community talking about their mental health and getting help. It’s changing now and I’m proud that this is part of the Heads Together campaign.

“Hopefully, if men see soldiers talking about mental health, it will give them the confidence to do the same.”

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph published on Monday, the prince reflected on the impact of his mother’s death and the time it took him to process it. “[I thought] it’s only going to make you sad, it’s not going to bring her back,” he said. “So from an emotional side, I was like ‘right, don’t ever let your emotions be part of anything’. So I was a typical 20-, 25-, 28-year-old running around going ‘life is great’, or ‘life is fine’ and that was exactly it.

“And then [I] started to have a few conversations and actually all of a sudden, all of this grief that I have never processed started to come to the forefront and I was like, there is actually a lot of stuff here that I need to deal with.”

On 19 April, four days before the marathon, the duchess will host runners from Team Heads Together at Kensington Palace to talk about their reasons for running and wish them luck.

William will attend the screening of the BBC’s Mind Over Marathon documentary at the BBC Radio Theatre on 18 April, which follows 10 runners affected by mental health issues. The royal trio will open the Global Academy in support of Heads Together on 20 April.

• In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14.
  

Prince William: suicide callout shed light on men"s mental health

Jamal Edwards breaks taboos around men"s mental health – video

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Jamal Edwards, founder of film-making company SBTV, asks why so many men are taking their own lives, and whether society’s stereotypes of masculinity have stopped men from seeking help with depression

Jamal Edwards breaks taboos around men"s mental health – video

Men’s Health: Top Tips to Boost Stamina and Energy

Tap into proven sources of stamina and drive, and energy to go through daily activities with vigor.

If you’re starting to suffer from bad mood and aching body more than you used to, then you might be lacking in energy. While going through your heavy daily grind can be physically stressful, the strain could be lessened if you have more stamina. Luckily, there are a lot of ways to rev your engines. Here is a list of the most effective ways to do it:

1. Take enough magnesium.

Magnesium is a mineral that’s usually found in the organs, tissues, and bones. According to Rachel Meltzer, a nutritionist, when the body does not have enough of the mineral, it will need more oxygen, especially during an exercise. Thus, you get tired more easily.

If you want to avoid it, you need to keep quick energy boosting foods in hand. Foods rich in magnesium include nuts, almonds, soybeans, cashews, and spinach. With increased level of magnesium, you can also remedy any chronic sleeping problem. In other words, you can sleep more and re-energize your body better and faster. For better results, you might want to pair magnesium-rich foods with calcium.

2. Fill up on fat.

While it’s true that excessive fat is highly unhealthy, keeping it all from your diet can result in a decrease in your testosterone levels, thus draining your energy and stamina. One study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine has revealed that those who consumed more fat have higher testosterone levels.

You must be wary of unhealthy fats, however. Maintain your T level without compromising your heart by taking monounsaturated fats. Foods high with this kind of fats include fish and nuts. For better results, pair intake of fats with continuous exercise.

3. Don’t stress yourself.

Any form of stress can quickly exhaust your energy. When you’re stressed, cortisol will surge. As a result, the body’s ability to produce testosterone is suppressed. Tiredness comes naturally. To fight stress, you must take enough sleep. Cardio can also help tame the tension in your body. For mental stress, you can try doing meditation. It will relieve your mind from anxiety and help you relax.Boost Stamina

4. Exercise and get your Vitamin D.

Staying and exercising indoors are not enough to boost your Vitamin D, a vitamin that you can naturally get from the sun. A study published in Environmental Science & Technology stated that exercising under natural light, specifically outdoors, can lead to feelings of revitalization, lesser tension, positive engagement, and increased energy. Thus, don’t hesitate to take at least a 10-minute walk outdoors.

5. Take the right supplements.

Sometimes, eating food rich in vitamins and minerals is not enough. In which case, you take supplements. For boosting stamina, energy, and drive, you can take Test-FX testosterone booster, one of the few approved and proven medicines to increase your T levels.

Conclusion

Don’t limit yourself. If there are things you want to accomplish, make sure that you accomplish all of them. Take your stamina and energy to another level by following the tips given above.

Author bio: The article on Test-FX testosterone booster has been written by Ignacio D. Pena who is a very active blogger and loves to write in the health niche.

Men’s Health: Top Tips to Boost Stamina and Energy

The NHS must show it cares about gay men’s lives – and roll out PrEP HIV drugs | Owen Jones

The health and lives of gay men matter. That’s what the high court ruled on Tuesday morning. Last year, NHS England decided against rolling out a treatment called PrEP – which prevents the transmission of HIV. The wellbeing of gay men was overriden by other priorities. Given it costs substantially more money to treat HIV than to prevent it, even financial considerations weren’t a good reason.

Related: NHS can fund ‘game-changing’ PrEP HIV drug, court says

On Tuesday, NHS England was defeated in court and told it was responsible for funding the treatment, and that they have a “preventative role and power to commission preventative function”. Pressure must now be placed on the NHS to start rolling this drug out immediately. As the British Medical Journal pointed out, “delays by NHS England will cost lives”.

If you want to stop HIV spreading, then PrEP is one among many solutions. It works. As studies in the United States have shown, if taken every day, it has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in high-risk individuals by up to 92%. The objections to PrEP, in truth, are based on moral objections. If you do not want the risk of HIV, goes the argument, then wear a condom. Those who get HIV are, by implication, morally condemned for bringing it on themselves.

Of course, safer sex messages must always emphasise the importance of condoms: after all, they protect against many other STIs. But – in the real world, rather than the non-existent world of the morally self-righteous – things are more complicated. People get carried away; people get drunk (yes, in the real world imperfect people sometimes drink more than the recommended daily amount); condoms break. The same moralising is used against the right of women to have control over their own bodies, whether it be the right to abortion or even the morning-after pill. The standards set by the “morally pure” cause harm – or even kill.

We have come so far with the treatment of HIV, once a disease that ravaged the gay world. But according to the Terence Higgins Trust, there are 45,000 men who have sex with men living with HIV; and thousands of them do not know they even have it. The annual rate of newly infected men in 2014 was higher than the decade before. If you genuinely want to send HIV infection rates hurtling into reverse, then PrEP is not the only solution – but it is a good one.

Gay people, their health and their lives, matter. That’s a court judgment. NHS England must now accept the defeat – and start doing its job: protecting health and saving lives.

The NHS must show it cares about gay men’s lives – and roll out PrEP HIV drugs | Owen Jones

Five minutes with ... a men"s health advisor

‘Work to enhance men’s health ought to be observed as normal and no longer a marginal, underneath-funded or brief-term action,’ says Peter Baker.

Describe your role in a single sentence: To assistance all varieties of organisations – NHS, personal firms, local governmentand charities – to start or continue doing work to enhance the wellness of guys and boys.

Why did you want to work in healthcare? I believed that men’s well being was unnecessarily poor but largely ignored. There was a prevailing fatalistic view that guys have been somehow programmed to die young and practically nothing could be done to stop that. This was – and nevertheless is – absolutely incorrect.

How do you want to see the sector alter in the next 5 years? Operate to boost men’s health need to be noticed as regular and no longer a marginal, underfunded or short-term activity. To give one particular instance, higher-street pharmacies should handle men’s enormous underneath-use of their companies by focusing on every person, not just females.

My proudest achievement at perform was … when I was chief executive at the Men’s Wellness Forum from 2000-twelve. In 2009, I secured the organisation’s part as a strategic companion of the Department of Wellness (a position it even now holds). This reflected just how considerably the forum’s influence had grown since it became a charity in 2001.

The most difficult thing I’ve dealt with at work is … persuading funders and commissioners that men’s wellness is really worth investing in.

The biggest challenge facing the NHS is … governments’ almost complete failure to tackle the social determinants of overall health – which includes earnings, gender and race inequalities.

The individuals I function with are … more and more anxious about whether or not they can do the task anticipated of them.

I do what I do since … the proof demonstrates that we can do considerably, significantly far better for guys.

Occasionally men and women think that I … need to join some others concerned in men’s issues in blaming feminism for men’s troubles. I truly see feminism as element of the resolution, not least simply because it demonstrates us that gender roles are not fixed. Just as males have turn into much more involved fathers, they can also consider much better care of their own well being.

Correct now I want to … persuade the Uk government to introduce HPV vaccinations for boys to decrease their cancer risk, motivate European overall health organisations to handle men’s ineffective use of most primary care providers, and to persuade global public overall health organisations like the Planet Health Organisation that they need to tackle men’s, as nicely as women’s, overall health.

At function I am always learning that … men will not just cause troubles for society – they also face troubles and support to resolve them.

The one point often on my mind at perform is … ought to I tweet about that?

If I could go back ten years and meet my former self I would inform him … not to waste so considerably time tweeting.

If I could meet my long term self I would assume him to be … even now trying to make a distinction for men, whether or not or not that’s about wellness.

What is the greatest portion of your occupation? When I am creating the case for men’s health and seeing men and women comprehend the issue for the initial time. One particular statistic that in no way fails to make an influence is that males are a lot more most likely to be obese than ladies – most individuals think it really is the other way around.

What is the worst part of your occupation? Hearing people speak about men’s health as if it’s just about prostates and penises – it genuinely is significantly far more than urology. Obesity, heart ailment, diabetes, mental well being, all the cancers guys can get, use of primary care providers – these are the significant men’s health troubles.

What can make you smile? People in meetings employing phrases like “going forward”, “ticks all the boxes” and “no brainer” without having irony.

What keeps you awake at evening? My cats, when I forget to lock them in the kitchen.

This write-up is published by Guardian Expert. Join the Healthcare Specialists Network to obtain standard emails and exclusive delivers.

Five minutes with ... a men"s health advisor