I would like to bring into perspective my own personal experience as a person as well as a doctor of men’s health. It is assumed that when we get older, we start declining, in both physical and mental health. Interestingly enough as I am approaching 50, I have to say I feel in the prime of my life.
It is by this age that when doing the right changes in your lifestyle you can potentiate your qualities. Men tend to neglect their bodies, which in turn, affects their minds. It is sad to see people developing metabolic syndrome, the prediabetic state, with one of their first warning signs being erectile dysfunction. This can be a red flag as an indicator of cardiovascular health. Again we can not separate the body and the mind. Men tend to increase their drinking habits, depression sets in. They feel their zest for life is gone.
This can be completely reversed. I encourage them to surround themselves with people that are going to challenge them physically and mentally. As there tends to be a healthy competitive mindset, this can be the spark to keep you going and mature as well as a vintage wine!! I strongly recommend a book by Steve Biddulph called Manhood. I read this 21 years ago when I first arrived in Australia. It is important to spend time with other men, fathers and sons, doing men’s business, creating an adequate role model. This is seen in every traditional culture. Humans are social beings. This interaction is essential for our health. Unfortunately in the current times, we have seen this tampered with this viral pandemic, having an even more serious impact than the virus.
Getting out in nature, going hiking, cooking and chatting around a fire with other men, talking about life, can be extremely invigorating and therapeutic, with the need of no drugs to make you feel better. Recently I was involved in a workshop of Bushcraft and Survival Skills, learning how to make fire with sticks, building a shelter, filtering water, doing a sweat lodge, to name a few. I could feel the buzz of every person after 3 days of living in the most basic conditions.
Nowadays the connection with the earth seems foreign to a lot of people. I believe it is this discontinuity that creates a sense of loss of identity and purpose in life that makes us age prematurely. Keep yourself stimulated and challenge yourself by getting out of your comfort zone, if you want to keep feeling young and vibrant as you were in your youth.
