Men’s health focus of June awareness campaign

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Health professionals encourage men to be more proactive with their health instead of allowing small issues to grow severe.

It’s always a good time for men to speak up about their health.

June is Men’s Health Month, promoting good health both mentally and physically and urging men of all ages to see a doctor or speak to people before their health gets to the point of detriment.

Men often carry the “macho” label to feel invincible and will resist scheduling a doctor exam for what they deem is minor until it turns into something more severe. Dr. Heather Burney, a family medicine physician for Atrium Health, said that from a physician's perspective, they want to see patients before a crisis happens. 

“We really need to transition people from the sick care model to the health care model,” she said. “I want to see you before you get cancer. I want to see you before you have kidney disease. I want to see you before the heart attack or before the stroke. … I'm a family doctor, so I think about the transition from a child to an adult. A lot of men are boys who I’ll see you ‘til you turn 18 when your parents bring you, and then I don’t see you until the big one happens. I don’t see a lot of men in that 18 to 45 or 18 to 50 age range, until something serious happens.”

Seeing a physician shouldn’t just be for physical health, either. June is also Men’s Mental Health Month, and for many men who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, it is important for them to feel they can discuss their emotions. 

Studies have shown that in the United States, men die by suicide at approximately four times the rate of women. So, while men account for just under 50% of the population, they account for 80% of suicides. 

“Depression and anxiety look different in men,” Burney said. “We think about women and think that women might feel sad and tearful. Men are not as apt to show their emotions outwardly, so they may notice that they get angry more often, or they may feel sad and isolated. We have to make sure that you build a community and build a family, whether that’s biological or chosen, to be able to reach out and take care of their mental health, because I think it gets ignored a lot.”

Burney said there are resources in Charlotte if you feel sad or show signs of depression, which could be the difference between life and death. 

“A big resource I would say is Atrium Health [Randolph Road] has a behavioral health emergency room,” she said. “So, if we get into an emergency situation where you start thinking about [harming yourself] there is that. Atrium also has a lot of virtual resources that people can access. It all goes back to prevention. Establishing a primary care doctor and having someone you feel comfortable talking to and they can connect you to these resources… Everyone goes through challenges and so I try to normalize it.”

The conversations about men’s health don’t stop when the calendar hits July either. 

“I think that's where we have to take the onus upon ourselves,” Burney said. “As a health care system, I think we have to make sure we’re doing outreach at times other than June. … Make sure that we’re not just doing things during June, but we’re managing and doing outreach at other times to make sure that we touch men all throughout the year.”

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