Men’s Health : The Forgotten Issue
What made me write this article ?
A close friend of mine committed suicide after being harassed by his wife, in-laws, women-cell officials. He was a bright student at school, did engineering from a good college but married in a haste without knowing laws of the land. As any man of 21st century he tried to keep his wife happy in every way possible but the greed never got satisfied and within a space of a month she went back to her parents house from her office.
After 2 years of separation, she slapped the “Legal Terrorism Package” on him and his mother. This lead to his job loss and mental stigma of being called a criminal made him weak from inside. I tried to calm him and give strength but might be it was not enough and one day he consumed poison along with his mother.
What more could have been done ?
After studying his case and listening to many other men facing similar situations, I found that as soon as we come under pressure, we leave our healthy lifestyle and start isolating ourselves, eat junk food, watch too much TV etc. This made me realize this problem can be handled better if we start back to our healthier routine and do not get into stress too often. Focus on our job as it is primary stress reliever. Increase in job losses and rising False 498A cases has led to surge in Male suicides.
According to WHO data suicide rate in India is 25.8 for men (ranking 22nd). Suicide is the common cause of death in both the age groups of 15–39 years old.
Important points to note
- Out of all the suicides in India, 70.2% are committed by men as per NCRB data
- The age group mentioned is a golden time for any person in profession and personal life.
- At 25+ we see many men getting into marriage and other family problems
- Poisoning (33%), hanging (26%) and self-immolation (9%) were the primary methods used in suicides.
- 89% of the suicide victims were literate.
Questions that come to my mind?
- Are we still going to follow Birth -> Job -> Marriage -> Death principle
- When do we speak about Male Health (mental and physical)
- Education is no longer a criteria for well being. Then what do we do
Ideas that can help you gain strength
- Exercise 4–5 days a week in early morning
- Prefer outdoor workouts than Gym
- Go in nature as much as possible
- Old workout methods (Burpees, Yoga)
- Speak to NGOs and share your problems
- Communicate with your near ones
- Learn Laws before Marriage
Remember: Your Life Your Rules. No-one means No-one can drive you, it’s you that has to take hold of it.
