Taking Charge Of Our Mental Health

[Hugh S]

Hello Gents, I'm new to PistonHeads & wanted to share this idea to see what other guys think.

We're always being told that we need to get in-touch with our feelings but surely we already are, otherwise we wouldn't know how we feel?
So here's a thought. Would we be better served by understanding the process by which we create our feelings because when you know how a process works you can start to take control of it.

Here's an illustration of the idea. If you get a problem with your engine you know the cause is a fault somewhere in the suck, squeeze, bang, blow process so you know where to start to look for the cause but when it comes to our emotions most of us do not understand how they work so we're left floundering & hoping we stumble on the answer.

[slybynight]

Question for mumsnet surely? Though you might want to rephrase the "Suck, squeeze, bang, blow" bit!

[Impasse]

slybynight said:

Question for mumsnet surely? Though you might want to rephrase the "Suck, squeeze, bang, blow" bit!

Mumsnet? Not really. Suicide is very much attributed to poor mental health and accounts for about 6000 people per year. Almost four times as many men as women are victims and is one of the leading killers of middled aged men. Poor mental health and its subsequent effect is a male dominated issue despite not being talked about very often. We're very good at it.

[Monty Python]

Knowing what the cause is is one thing, knowing what to do about it is another.

[mph1977]

slybynight said:

Question for mumsnet surely? Though you might want to rephrase the "Suck, squeeze, bang, blow" bit!

and here in is part of the problem with the stigmatisation of mainly male groups and discussion of mental health ..

[slybynight]

Ok all. Fair cop. I posted something flippant in the hope of a cheap laugh. My bad. I am aware of male suicide rates, and what a serious subject mental health is. But I have a slightly different angle on the problems people face, particularly men. I'm no shrink, but it seems to me that talking to people always helps. Todays world has improved this with forums like this etc, but just as much has been undone by the elimination of "pub" culture, and the pressure to spend all ones time working or nurturing. Facebook is ok, but its no substitute for chewing the cud IRL. We are social animals and I consider a lot of modern life stifles and oppresses this very essential psychological need. We know 1000's of people online, but have never spoken to our neighbors etc. As for mens suicide rate.... the safety net for men is non existant when compared to that for women. I am told getting council accomodation as a single man is nigh on impossible. There is no mothers for justice group. Why is this? I dont think men need to be more introspective and research how they tick. We are men. We know what makes us tick. A fair crack of the whip would sort out a lot of problems.