Living in a rural area doesn’t mean you will be less likely to suffer from mental health problems. It does mean you will be less likely to have easy access to diagnosis and care. Even though rural residents are in poorer health generally than those living elsewhere, they have less access to treatment, partly because...Continue reading
When it comes to gender, alcohol and drug abuse are not equal-opportunity afflictions. Men are more likely than women to use almost all types of illegal drugs, and they are more likely to end up in emergency rooms or dying as a result of overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Men also have...Continue reading
Part 1 I will always remember 2020 as the year the wheels came off the world and everyone tried to hold on for dear life. From the worldwide pandemic that killed millions to the wildfires that ravaged many parts of our country, from a crash in the economy and chaos in our elections to fake...
Autism affects more than 3.5 million Americans, with boys four times more likely than girls to be afflicted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says. Autism increased in children in the United States by 119 percent from 2000, when the rate was one child in 150, to 2010, when the rate was one...
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