The opioid abuse epidemic in the United States was already urgent when the COVID-19 pandemic began, but health authorities fear the virus has made the opioid epidemic even worse. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released in December 2020 notes that 10 western states saw opioid overdoses increase in that year. Most...
COVID-19’s isolation may be necessary for physical health, but it’s causing a torrent of mental health problems for boys and young men that are worsening as the pandemic drags on. Family members, friends and work colleagues can play an important part in monitoring the mental health of the men and boys they care about. The...Continue reading
Rural men are likely to experience a sizeable increase in mental health needs during and after the pandemic, whether they had a prior history or not. Chief among these mental issues is depression, as people feel isolated and alone during the pandemic. Men’s Health Network, a non-profit concerned with men’s health issues, convened a conference...Continue reading
Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the most joyful—or stressful—time of the year is fast approaching. For most, though, Christmas and New Year’s (and the leadup to both) is a uniquely magical time, filled with holiday carols, reunions, displays of colorful lights, love, and affection, often expressed through gift giving. For the better part...Continue reading
Old stereotypes would have us believe that women are more focused on relationships than men, but I have found that is not true, though men and women do see marriage through different lenses. A loving, intimate, and joyful marriage is just as important to men as it is to women. It is also just as...Continue reading
I was introduced to Father Earth in 1993 and wrote about my experience in an article, “The Resurrection of Father Earth and the Return of True Partnership Between Men and Women.” Since then my life has never been the same. When Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of Women Who Run With The Wolves, offered her poem, chills ran down my...Continue reading
At first glance, you’d think that staying at home (by law) during the COVID-19 pandemic would mean more babies being born. After all, conception rates are seasonal, with the highest rates occurring during the winter months when we’re all huddled inside. Romance and sex are all about contact time, right? Turns out, it’s a bit more complicated...Continue reading
No one has to tell you that we face a host of problems in the world today, everything from the global Coronavirus pandemic to global warming; increasing anxiety and depression to a collapsing economy; racism and police violence to divorce and domestic violence. Think of any problem that needs to be solved and you’ll find...Continue reading
Quick question. Which matters more: How you collect your semen sample or who analyzes it? Correct, it’s who you give it to that matters more. Barring major interruptions or large faults in technique, collecting semen is basically triggering a spinal reflex that’s pretty consistent in humans, kind of like a light switch. But to properly...Continue reading
People are tired of hearing about Covid-19–How many are dying, who is being hospitalized, which states are closing down again, whether we can send our kids to school, and who’s to blame for this tragedy. There are three common reactions: (1) Forget the virus. Get on with our lives, Sturgis, here I come. (2) Stay...Continue reading