We men seldom talk about our health and are even more reluctant to seek medical assistance. In fact, studies show that 61 percent of men do not engage in regular health checkups, representing a missed opportunity for preventive health care discussions.¹

Growing up on a dairy farm in Southeast Minnesota, for me, medical doctors were a long distance away. There wasn’t the money or the time to see the doctor. Even after leaving the farm, the societal message remained loud: “Why don’t you just man up and be strong?”

Many of us men grew up thinking we were supermen until aches, pains and health issues started nagging at us.

Thankfully, the most common men’s health issues are preventable or reversible with a healthy lifestyle of regular exercise, healthy diet, not smoking, stress reduction and alcohol consumption in the moderate range (no more than two drinks a day), if at all.

While men and women can develop most of the same mental disorders and conditions, men may experience different symptoms. Men are also less likely to seek mental health services than women. Acknowledging depression is seen by many as a sign of weakness; their belief is that real men don’t get depressed.

As a medical hypnotherapist, I find that women are more likely than men to call for an appointment. So, it’s especially exciting for me when men do call and schedule an appointment for lifestyle, habit changes or improved mental and emotional health. Other conditions which medical hypnosis can assist are shy bladder syndrome, erectile dysfunction, incontinence and pain control.

Medical hypnosis is an ideal modality for men, because though they may not like to talk about their problems, they do like solutions. Hypnotherapy offers logical results because it is science-based and puts you in control of your own behaviors, thoughts, emotions, health and wellness. Most people who experience the therapy will improve their ability to access deep physical and mental relaxation and gain confidence in their ability to change their experience in real time.

One of the goals of medical hypnosis is to help you to create a harmonious relationship between mind and body, which is a foundation for wellness. Hypnosis can help you become friends with your body and treat it as an ally and a source of wisdom, rather than an opponent whose needs must be vanquished.

Roger Moore is a certified counselor and registered hypnotherapist with Palm Desert Hypnosis and can be reached at [email protected] or (760) 219.8079. For more information, visit www.PalmDesertHypnosis.com.

Reference:
1) https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3706-5