International Men’s Health Day

Today is International Men’s Day. The concept and themes of International Men’s Day are designed to give hope to the depressed, faith to the lonely, comfort to the broken-hearted, transcend barriers, eliminate stereotypes and create a more caring humanity.

One of the pillars of International Men’s Day is to focus on men’s health and wellbeing  including social, emotional, physical and spiritual

Men are known for bottling things up, but trying to go it alone when you’re feeling down increases the risk of depression or anxiety going unrecognised and untreated.

Depression is a high risk factor for suicide, and plays a contributing role to the big difference in suicide rates for men and women.

On average, one in eight men will experience depression and one in five men will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives.

Men make up an average seven out of every nine suicides every single day in Australia. The number of men who die by suicide in Australia every year is nearly double the national road toll.

At Pat Dogs Australia, we assist mental health sufferers to procure, train and certify psychiatric assistance dogs. These dogs assist people with mental illness.

Psychiatric assistance dogs are trained to reduce the impact of specific symptoms for people living with mental illness, and improve their overall quality of life.
Assistance Dogs can help guide those living with mental illness back to a sense of safety, helping to improve interpersonal connections, encourage engagement in the community, and regain areas of functioning that may have been diminished by their mental illness.

If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental health disorder and feel an assistance dog could help. Please like and share this article and contact Pat Dogs Australia Limited for more information.  www.patdogs.org.au

If you or someone you know are currently in crisis please call Lifeline on 13 11 14