Let’s Grab Men’s Health By The Balls: #MensHealthWeek

Euan Wardrop

Euan Wardrop

Senior Accounts Manager

Let’s Grab Men’s Health By The Balls: #MensHealthWeek

13 June 2022
Bulla Co - Men's mental health

Chaps, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, take 5 minutes, park your arse, unwind and take a look at yourself. Are you healthy? Are you happy? No? Why?

Us blokes don’t spend enough time looking after ourselves and that’s a fact. That gung-ho, invincible attitude that we all seem to have may well come back to bite us. There are two sides to our health; physical and mental and nowhere near enough men pay attention to either. Being young and going to university comes certain challenges, so if I have two messages for you;
 
  1. Get checked out
  2. Check in on your mates
 
There is a strange stigma around certain physical illnesses that men are subjected to getting and honestly, it is down to embarrassment. I get it, who wants to get their balls out for a random doctor? Who would want to get their prostate examined? These are very invasive check-ups and often it can be easier to ignore the signs to avoid having to go through the ordeal and “shame” of getting checked out. This is something I can relate to on a personal level.
 
I’ll set the scene. I’m 13, at a new school and am away from home for the first time. Week 1, I find a lump and it was gut-wrenching. The fear and embarrassment I felt simultaneously I remember to this day and always will. I knew what I had to do but didn’t know if I could do it. I spent two weeks in a constant state of anxiety to the point that I was in tears every night, and yes, real men cry. I went and got it checked out and it was all clear so there was nothing to worry about any more. Why am I telling you this? It. Wasn’t. That. Bad. Yes, it was awkward and uncomfortable but I won’t lie to you, doctors have seen thousands of private parts and they really couldn’t care less about yours. I promise you it is so much better to have that peace of mind so I urge you TO GET CHECKED OUT!
 
This leads on to the second part, men’s mental health. Despite coming into the public eye in recent times, us blokes never speak about it. Just check in with your mates, ask how they’re doing- you never know who is putting on a brave face. ​​After the testicle incident I was incredibly homesick. I fell into routines which made me feel safe and secure, but these routines became the basis of my daily activities. I had to do everything in a certain order to be able to function daily. However I denied that this was happening and let it get worse and worse, until one day I finally broke down to my friend, who encouraged me to get help where I was told I had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)- an anxiety disorder, where many things in life (showering, turning light switches on, etc.) have to be done in order, a certain amount of times, or it can even just mean you find it hard to leave your room in a tip.
 
The reason why I explain it is because I found it incredibly difficult to talk about it to anyone close to me as it is hard to get off your chest. By making myself get up and talk about it, I have been able to combat it much more effectively- so I implore you to do so yourself. Talk to your friends, family and seek professional help if you need to. You are not an anomaly. If you’re sitting there and genuinely are happy, I’m proud of you but I guarantee someone you know isn’t so please, please, CHECK IN ON YOUR MATES!
 
To sum up, you are not alone, it will all get better but I implore you to get checked out and to check in on your mates and please always remember the Bulla DM’s are always open.

With love,

Euan x
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