For men, its not just the physical health that suffers- their mental and emotional health is also at risk. Many men find it hard to express their discomfort or attend to early indications that they are all unwell- so it is not surprising that a crises develops. This may be physical illness ( like a heart attack) or emotional breakdown, mid-life crises or worse. 75% of all suicides in the UK are male, with the rate for young men currently rising alarmingly. And young men are falling prey to what were previously considered to be female anxieties connected to their image, as evidenced by the rising rate of male anorexia.
Research confirms the importance of mind-body connections in disease. American studies have shown that those who suffer frequent bouts of depression are 40% likely to develop heart disease - the main premature killer of men in the UK.
The impact of diet and exercise on our health is generally recognised now. But equally important is the link between mind and body. Conventional medicine has tended to separate the two and to treat the body as a complex machine. On a daily basis, however most of us experience the mind-body connection. Blushing for instance, is a common physical expression for our emotional state.
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