Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has reportedly checked into a
wellness retreat to deal with "personal
issues," after the blockbuster series recently came to an end. His
agent said that "Kit has decided to
utilise this break in his schedule as an opportunity to spend some time at a
wellness retreat to work on some personal issues".
Harington, who played Jon Snow throughout the show's eight-year
run, has spoken openly in the past about his struggles dealing with fame, and
the emotional adjustment he was forced to make after the conclusion of the hit
series.
I couldn’t be more impressed or delighted to hear this and
although I have no connection to the actor whatsoever, I am deeply encouraged
to hear of a young man, taking an informed decision to practice some essential
self-care and invest in his future. I take my hat off to him.
We men don’t do half enough of it because there is still an astounding
volume of stigmatisation, wrongly, I may add, surrounding men who dare to talk
about their mental struggles. As we get to the end of Mental Health Awareness
Month this May, I hope that seeing Kit Harington practice some self-care, might
just begin to help in changing that.
Statistics suggest that 10% of men experience depression on a
daily basis. “Daily”. That’s millions
of men. Even if we are depressed or anxious, we rarely admit that’s the culprit
- instead, we lie and say we’re tired or just out of sorts. We retreat from
friends & family and instead, we use numbing substances or techniques to
hide from our pain.
Male suicide is rising at such an alarming rate that it’s
been classified as a “silent epidemic.” It’s the seventh leading cause of death
for males. That’s a staggering statistic. This macho attitude of stuffing our
feelings down, or ignoring them, is antiquated and downright dangerous- our macho
male hormones are literally killing us - and that has to stop.
The huge and ongoing stigma for men is to “never be seen as weak” and, again wrongly, seeking support or going
to therapy, gets enmeshed in this out of date “weak” stigma.
And it’s rubbish.
I have seen many men thrive through therapy and they have all been
brave, courageous, strong and honest. They CERTAINLY weren’t weak. They simply needed
some support and a fresh pair of eyes - and we ALL need that from time to time -
and we need to start seeing it as the normality that it is.
Chaps - we’ve just got the strong / weak thing back to front!
Flip
it. Make a new choice. You won’t regret it.
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