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How does building healthy relationships contribute to supporting men's mental health?

Emma Parsons

This year's Men's Health Week theme is 'Building Healthy Environments for Men and Boys'- focusing on creating physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy environments in the home, workplace, and social settings.

This time is an excellent opportunity to highlight the importance of promoting and supporting men's health and wellbeing in our workplaces. Men's Health Week focuses on physical health, mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Our previous article discussed that Men's Mental Health is now being dubbed a "Silent Crisis". We all know that most men are experiencing mental health issues, and numerous studies support that. However, each year the suicide rate among men is surprisingly growing. In Australia alone, men make up 7 out of every 9 suicides every single day.

Given that male suicide continues to be a global crisis, we must consider that building a healthy relationship is one of the most critical aspects of our lives. We often forget how meaningful our connections with other people are for our physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In our time today, we often forget that the relationships we form with other people are a foundational cornerstone to our mental health and wellbeing. Healthy relationships support good mental health, while social isolation and poor relationships can be risk factors for mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

How does building healthy relationships contribute to supporting men's mental health?

Most men express their feelings and even mental health problems differently. They often cover these up by suspicious actions like aggression, alcohol or drug abuse, gambling, addiction, or being out of touch. Having a healthy relationship can help them cope in difficult situations and express themselves.

They feel more motivated and satisfied. To keep men away from the risks of mental health conditions and help those going through them, we can support them by developing healthy relationships in the workplace. People who have healthy relationships are more likely to feel happier and satisfied with their lives.

Increase a sense of purpose and belongingness. Men are less likely to express themselves if they have physical and mental health difficulties. Increasing their understanding of self-worth and belongingness and helping them feel less alone gives them a sense of purpose to make work more meaningful and boost their confidence to try new things.

Build a strong support network. A healthy relationship can also build a strong support network, and you can turn to the people you share your life with for support, encouragement, and personal growth. Opening up to someone and sharing your feelings, thoughts, and struggles can help strengthen your relationship with them, and it adds to the attachment of your relationship with them and can help them understand you better. Sharing your thoughts also brings awareness to others so that, in the future, they can pick up on these signs and offer timely support.

How to build and maintain healthy relationships for men?

Talk to them regularly. Keeping communication lines open improves the sense of belonging and community.

Listen to them. Active listening reduces any misunderstanding that can take place. It also allows people to feel heard and acknowledged, whether they agree or disagree.

Promoting awareness about men's mental health. Raising mental health awareness for men is different to how you would for women. Improving how you market/discusses, and offer support can make the difference between someone stepping forward to seek help. To learn more about how you can promote awareness, feel free to check our related article about 3 Simple Ways to Promote Men's Mental Health Awareness in the workplace.

Building solid relationships is having good, open, and regular communication. This can be done by sharing your thoughts and feelings with family, friends and trusted work colleagues.

Maintaining a healthy relationship is essential, and it takes time and commitment. No relationship is perfect, but it must bring us more happiness than stress. Remember that communication is always the key to having a better connection in every relationship.

Contact us to know more about how to make a positive impact within your business and improve your team's mental wellbeing. Call us today on 1300 114 818 for a private and confidential conversation or email us at info@proactiveaction.co.

We look forward to talking to you soon.

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