NEWS FROM THE MEN’S HEALTH FORUM

I’d rather admit I can’t get it up

Let’s talk about feeling crap: Men’s Health Week – 10-16th June

In the UK, over 4500 men kill themselves each year and two-thirds of drink-related deaths are male. More men hang themselves than die on the roads.

The leading men’s health charity the Men’s Health Forum is challenging men to talk about feeling crap for Men’s Health Week (10th – 16th June) and challenging health professionals to help them do it.

The charity, which co-ordinates Men’s Health Week, is launching [10th June] a new campaign highlighting what men may prefer to talk about instead of admitting to feeling down.

Men and women experience mental health problems in roughly equal numbers, yet men are much less likely to be diagnosed and treated for it.
The consequences can be fatal – the Men’s Health Forum has long highlighted that 3 in 4 suicides are by men and that 73% of people who go missing are men.

Slogans used in the new Men’s Health Week campaign include:
• I’d rather admit I can’t get it up... Let’s talk about feeling crap
• I’d rather admit I like Justin Bieber... Let’s talk about feeling down
• I’d rather admit I’m a bad driver... Let’s talk about feeling down
• I’d rather admit I hate football... Let’s talk about feeling down

[web and print quality images available – see notes]

Martin Tod, chief executive of the Men’s Health Forum, said:

“Suicide is the unspoken killer taking the lives of far too many men. Many men suffer alone or seek solace in drink. We have to find ways to make it easier for men to talk about their health before it’s too late.”

“There are things that are hard for many of us to talk about and feeling crap is one of them. This is how men talk – if we get the words out we would say we’re feeling crap, not that we’re feeling ‘a little sad’.”

“If all men could talk about how they were feeling with confidence, I don’t think we’d be looking at horrific figures like these. Whatever the problem, your GP has heard it before. And these days there are telephone and online options too. Don’t bottle it up.”

Working with hundreds of local partners, Men’s Health Week will see events take place around the country ensuring that men can talk to someone face to face as well as finding information online.

For more on Men’s Health Week visit www.menshealthweek.org.uk

ENDS

EMBARGO 10th June.

Notes

Downloads for media use: http://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/content/download-and-print-mhw13

• The Men’s Health Forum (MHF), a charity, provides an independent and authoritative voice for male health in England and Wales and tackles the issues and inequalities affecting the health and well-being of men and boys.

• Premature death mainly affects men. 42% of men die prematurely (before the age of 75) compared to 26% of women. 21% of men aged 16-64 die from all causes compared to 12% of women.

• Men use the range of primary care services far less than women and take longer to present and get a diagnosis. In Great Britain, men visit their GP 20% less than women and are less likely to use services such as weight management and smoking cessation.

Men’s Health Week 2013 in England and Wales

• Men’s Health Week’s national partners reflect key mental health organisations, routes for reaching men and the role of money problems in men’s mental health:

o Mind
o YoungMinds
o The European Healthy Stadia Network
o The Illegal Money Lending Team/Stop Loan Sharks

• Men’s Health Week has hundreds of local partners, including health professionals and organisations around the country. They will run Men’s Health Week events from health awareness days to sports events in town centres and workplaces.

The MHF is online at:
www.menshealthforum.org.uk for health professionals and policy makers,
www.malehealth.co.uk for fast, free, independent health info from the Men’s Health Forum.
@menshealthforum for Twitter updates on our work.
Downloads for media use: http://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/content/download-and-print-mhw13