Being Male

by Peter Delaney, Acupuncturist, Naturopath & Senior Practitioner

Life as a male has its own challenges which are quite different to those of the females in our lives.

For one we have a different driving physiology; testosterone being the big one. When we are in teens, it’s about being fearless and taking sometimes unnecessary risks and we’ve all done that, haven’t we? It’s a wonder we survive those years but most of us do. Our boyish fearlessness then gives way to more sensibility: we develop relationships we care about, we take on jobs and sometimes very ambitious careers, we might have children, we make new friends who offer a different way of seeing the world. Hopefully we have a long, healthy life filled with great experiences.

Through all of these different phases of our lives there are very different stresses which are placed on us to determine whether it’s a smooth journey or not.

The Chinese believe that we should live our lives in balance with our environment. The energy in our body changes radically from when we were 16 and very “yang” to when we are 60 and our yang energy has declined.

Men tend not to seek help for their health concerns until it has become so debilitating that they have to, or it is interfering with them doing something they love. Often they come after their partner begs them, or threatens to take action if they don’t do something about it!

Men as a rule would just prefer to get on with life and not have to think about too many details, like health for instance. However, ignoring health concerns is a very risky thing to do. There is an increase in men’s health conditions such as prostrate problems – including cancer. Other problems are depression, pain, stress, insomnia, and sexual problems like lack of libido, erectile problems, and infertility. Some of these things also affect women but women tend to talk about them and usually do something about them. So, what’s the difference? That is something we all need to ask ourselves.

It is November and “Movember” will once again cause Australian males to grow some fantastic moustaches to bring awareness to male health issues, particularly prostate cancer. For the first time, I will be growing a mo in support of this very important area of health and raise some money and some eyebrows for a worthy cause.