This week its Men’s Health Week! The whole week is dedicated to bringing awareness to health issues that affect men disproportionately and focuses on getting men to become aware of problems they may have or could develop, and gain the courage to do something about it.
The overall aim of the week is too;
1. Heighten awareness of preventable health problems for males of all ages.
2. Support men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices/activities.
3. Encourage the early detection and treatment of health difficulties in males.
The theme for this year's Men’s Health Week is ‘Take Action on Covid-19’. This week, Men’s Health Forum will be looking at;
• Taking action against spreading the virus
• Taking action to get the best of lockdown and boosting mental health.
• And taking actions to beat any underlying health conditions in Men.
Health issues (both mental and physical) can affect anyone and they’re far more common than you may think. For example, it’s estimated that one in four men will or have suffered from a mental health issue and on mortality compiled by Men’s Health Forum, men are more likely than women to die prematurely. Despite being so common, a lot of people, especially men, don’t feel like they can speak out and seek help.
Why is it hard for Men to talk about their health issues?
There are a large number of personal reasons as to why men might not recognise they’re struggling or won’t seek support. Each individual is unique and therefore one man’s reason may be completely different from another’s. However, there is a common theme...
There is a common stigma and societal attitude that men are strong and to be associated with a any health disorder, whether it’s mental or physical is considered ‘weak’ and not classed as being a ‘real man’. This could not be further from the truth. ANYONE can have a Health issue and you are entitled to feel however you want about it.
What is the SU doing to help?
At Harper, we have always put large amounts of effort into these kind of Health awareness days, weeks, and months and this year, despite the Covid-19 stance, will be no exception.
Our staff are going to be available throughout the week for you to get in touch with. Each day, we will have a different member of our excellent SU staff on call each day! Whether you want a zoom call, a phone call or even if you would prefer to chat via email, we’ll be here for you. Here is the list of who is on hand on each day;
• Monday – Thomas Oatey, SU President - 15164500@live.harper.ac.uk
• Tuesday – Andy Jeffries, Sports and Societies Officer - ajefferies@harper-adams.ac.uk
• Wednesday – Lauren France, SU Vice President - 16034500@live.harper.ac.uk
• Thursday – Alastair Burr, Student Union Director - aburr@harper-adams.ac.uk
• Friday – Katie Jones, Marketing and Events Coordinator - kmjones@harper-adams.ac.uk
Student services will also be available for any support and advice you may need.
The SU staff will also be wearing Blue on ‘Wear Blue Friday’ to raise awareness for men’s health.
What can you do to help?
Here are a number of things that you can do to help promote Men’s Health throughout the week;
• Join us on ‘Wear Blue Friday’ to support Men’s Health and tag us in you Wearing Blue Selfies!
• If you know someone struggling with either a Health or Mental Health issue, take 2 minutes out of your day to get in contact with them to make sure they’re ok.
• You can do more to help the cause by going to the Men’s Health Forum website and signing up to spread the word, or donate to the cause!
*Although this week is a national week focusing on men’s health, we know a large percentage of our members are also female, and any tips, suggestions, our services such as student services and calls with staff are also available to any of our students who might be in need of support*
WE'RE HERE FOR YOU