I caught up with Rakhal Ebeli from Newsmodo to discuss how we built a movement and the role emotional content plays in engaging and inspiring a community. [LISTEN IN HERE]
DAILY TELEGRAPH: 191 shoes laid out on Bondi Beach represents number of Aussie men who take their lives each month
As an incredible sunrise brought light to Bondi Beach on Movember 1, 191 pairs of men’s shoes were laid out on the sand in an effort to shine a light on a growing darkness plaguing Australia.
More than six men take their own lives every day across the country - about 191 each month - with suicide the leading cause of death among males aged 15-44.
The installation which greeted swimmers, surfers and joggers on one of the world’s most iconic beaches was set up to mark the beginning of Movember, a more serious introduction to what is a fun month of hairy faces.
ALL THESE PRODUCTIVITY APPS ARE KILLING OUR PRODUCTIVITY
I get work messages on two email addresses, on Slack, text, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Wunderlist, Twitter, Skype, an antiquated HR system, Drop Box, Confluence, Salesforce, Trello, Evernote, WebEx, Google Docs, Concur, and Tripit. My phone hardly rings any more.
For every productivity challenge out there, an app exists that aims to solve that inefficiency. Often the entry point for these apps is free, so a proliferation of new apps slide into the workplace. You get drawn into them because different department or project leads manage through their preferred eco-system of ‘productivity’ apps.
Using so many apps has definitely reduced my productivity. I forget to check all of them regularly, I forget login details, and get distracted by the constant hum of alerts throughout the day. When I want to message a colleague I now think about their preferred means: JC - text; Alana - WhatsApp; Meaghan - Slack; Juliette - email; Byron - Skype; Chuck – pager (c’mon Chuck catch up bro!).
It’s so important to be able to focus in order to get more work done, and to be present in order to have quality thinking time. It’s all too easy to turn up to work and float through the day responding to the myriad of messages without actually getting anything real done. Call me old school, but there is no app that substitutes starting each day with a handwritten list of what you want to achieve that day, then crossing each task off as you complete it. Not only do you stay focused, get more done, you end the day happier because of your sense of achievement, or you realize that you didn’t achieve all you set out to which sharpens your focus for tomorrow.
Seeing your daily priorities written in your own handwriting has a powerful effect on your mind, which no app can do.
ORDER OF MAN: CURING MEN'S CANCER ONE MUSTACHE AT A TIME
I chatted with Ryan Michler for the Order of Man podcast about what it means to be a modern gentleman, the current state of men's health and life as a social entrepreneur. [LISTEN IN HERE]
Men, we need to talk
Globally, the rate of suicide is alarmingly high, particularly in men. We lose a man to suicide every minute of every day with suicide being the leading cause of death for men under 40.
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day and we have a simple message: Men, let's talk when things get tough.
Please watch and share this to inspire a conversation that matters.
The hidden health crisis that we need to talk about
Ignore a problem and it will go away. How many times have we heard that? How many times has each of us done that? I would suggest more often than any of us would like to admit. This avoidance may be as insignificant as putting off fixing something around the house or washing the car. At this level, there are too many things you’d rather do: watch the football on TV, go out for dinner, take the kids to the park. Yes, it’s all too easy to ignore a problem when life and living get in the way. But, what happens when life and living are themselves perceived as the problem? A problem so large and heartbreaking. The statistics demand we should be paying much more attention:
- Around the world, on average we lose a man to suicide every minute of every day. That’s 510,000 men each and every year.
- More than twice as many kill themselves than die on our roads.
- Suicide is a leading cause of death for men under 40.
- Three out of four suicides are men.
Male suicide.
Why aren’t we talking about it?
Don’t turn your back, turn a page, close this window, or turn a blind eye. Male suicide is a problem that can’t be ignored. Indeed, this is such a serious and saddening issue that it should be at the front and centre of public discussion.
So, again I ask, why aren’t we talking about it?
Is it because of social perception and stigma? Is it because we don’t have the courage to confront it? Is it because…well, what reasons do you give? And when you do think about your answer, you should consider this: in your circle of friends, family, work-mates, team-mates, you will have someone, or perhaps several people or more, who are in a dark place, struggling with some form of mental illness and may need your help.
In his world acclaimed book, Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, American writer William Styron wrote about the lack of understanding about depression:
“The prevention of many suicides will continue to be hindered until there is a general awareness of the nature of this pain.”
Styron wrote that in 1989. Now, all these years and too many lost lives later, it could be tragically argued that those words still carry heavy meaning. We will increase awareness of the nature of this pain and how we can all help to reduce suicide by talking openly about it.
Think about the numbers again. Around the world, on average we lose a man to suicide every minute of every day. Since starting to read this article to this point, someone’s father, son, brother, workmate, friend has tragically taken their life. The World Health Organization tells us that we lose more lives to suicide each year than war, murder, and natural disasters combined. Think about all of the conversation we have about war, murder and natural disasters, the focus in the media, the attention given to reporting on these devastating subjects and debating solutions. Now think about how often suicide is discussed. How often we talk about something that is killing more of us than any other violent act. Something that takes twice as many lives as we lose on our roads.
How can we allow this to happen? As we near World Suicide Prevention Day I’m asking you all to think about the lives of those you love. All are priceless. And if you pay close attention, you might hear a voice or two that needs to be listened to very, very closely. Someone might need your help.
Male suicide. This is a social crisis that demands our immediate attention and action.
Why aren’t we talking about it?
It must change.
Lives depend on us.
Go to weneedtotalk.movember.com for more information on how to start potentially life-saving conversations and to find 24-hour crisis support if you need it.
THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT SUICIDE IS DEAD WRONG
I hear and read too often people using the term “commit suicide”. I used it up until three years ago. The other day a good friend used it in a post for the campaign raising awareness for veteran suicides where you video yourself doing 22 push-ups representing the number of veterans that take their life every day in the US.
The last time I used that phrase was at the launch of the Movember campaign in Toronto 2013 where I was announcing our focus on suicide prevention because - “3 out of 4 suicides are men, 1 man commits suicide every minute of every day around the world” I shared with the packed room.
A guy by the name Eric Windeler then approached me, thanked me for Movember’s new focus and funding but asked that I never use “commit suicide” again. Naively I asked why. Eric then shared that he had lost his son, Jack to suicide and that his son didn’t commit a sin, and didn’t commit a crime.
The gravity of that moment stuck with me.
The next day I investigated the origins and found the term came from the days when suicide was illegal (to "commit" a crime) and was considered a sin by the church (to "commit" a sin). It also has connotations from the days of institutional care where people were "committed" to an asylum. The term still carries these stigmas with it today and its use (as I experienced) can be extremely upsetting to people who have lost a loved one to suicide.
When talking about such tragedies, it’s better to use phrases like “Took his own life”, “Killed herself”, “Died by suicide”.
Suicide is the biggest killer of young men, eclipsing road death, cancer and heart disease. To positively address this hidden health crisis, we need to start talking about it and using the right language.
Please share this with anyone that uses “commit suicide” because language matters.
Go to www.movember.com for more information on how to start life-saving conversations and to find 24-hour crisis support if you need it.
HUFFINGTON POST: Taking It Like A Man Is Killing Our Men
In Australia, suicide is the biggest killer of Australian men aged 15 to 44, eclipsing road death, cancer and heart disease. Three times as many men compared to women take their own lives.
Globally, 510,000 men die from suicide each year -- that's one every minute. And yet, it's hidden in the shadows and shrouded in stigma.
There's no denying that mental health problems affect men and women of all ages. Research tells us that women suffer higher rates of anxiety and depression. However, mental health outcomes are weighted against men because most blokes don't handle mental illness well.
Women are more likely to talk about what's going on and seek help for mental health problems, whereas we men are great at bottling things up and toughing it out -- even if we're in a pretty bad place.
We can't afford to stay silent. We need to talk about the tough stuff and we need to act.