Men's Health Month: Prioritize Your Health, Inside and Out

June is Men’s Health Month, a time to focus on the impor­tance of pre­ven­tive care and over­all well-being for men. At The South Bend Clin­ic, we empha­size the sig­nif­i­cance of reg­u­lar check-ups, rou­tine screen­ings, and men­tal health aware­ness. By tak­ing proac­tive steps, men can sig­nif­i­cant­ly improve their health and qual­i­ty of life. 

The Impor­tance of Annu­al Check-Ups 

See­ing your pri­ma­ry care provider (PCP) annu­al­ly is a cor­ner­stone of good health. Reg­u­lar check-ups help: 

• Mon­i­tor chron­ic conditions 
• Update vac­ci­na­tions
• Dis­cuss any health concerns 
• Per­form rou­tine screenings 

Annu­al vis­its are an oppor­tu­ni­ty to catch poten­tial health issues ear­ly, dis­cuss lifestyle changes, and get per­son­al­ized advice to main­tain opti­mal health. 

Men’s Men­tal Health: Break the Silence 

Men’s men­tal health is often over­looked. Social norms and stig­ma can make men less like­ly to seek help for con­di­tions like depres­sion, anx­i­ety, and stress-relat­ed issues. It’s essen­tial to rec­og­nize that men­tal health is as impor­tant as phys­i­cal health. 

Major Men­tal Health Con­di­tions Impact­ing Men

• Depres­sion: Men may exhib­it depres­sion dif­fer­ent­ly than women, often show­ing irri­tabil­i­ty, anger, or sub­stance abuse rather than sadness. 
• Anx­i­ety: Chron­ic wor­ry, rest­less­ness, and phys­i­cal symp­toms like a rac­ing heart are common. 
• Bipo­lar Dis­or­der: Char­ac­ter­ized by extreme mood swings from high (man­ic) to low (depres­sive) phases. 
• Psy­chosis and Schiz­o­phre­nia: These severe men­tal dis­or­ders affect thoughts and per­cep­tions, lead­ing to delu­sions or hallucinations. 
• Eat­ing Dis­or­ders: Less com­mon­ly rec­og­nized in men, but can include anorex­ia, bulim­ia, and binge-eat­ing disorder. 

Prostate Can­cer: Ear­ly Detection 

Prostate can­cer is one of the most com­mon can­cers among men. Ear­ly detec­tion through rou­tine screen­ing can sig­nif­i­cant­ly improve out­comes. Men over the age of 50, or those with a fam­i­ly his­to­ry of prostate can­cer, should talk to their pri­ma­ry care provider about the ben­e­fits of prostate-spe­cif­ic anti­gen (PSA) tests and dig­i­tal rec­tal exams (DRE).

Key points about prostate cancer: 

• Screen­ing is impor­tant: Reg­u­lar screen­ings can detect prostate can­cer ear­ly when it’s most treatable. 
• Know the risk factors: 
  • Fam­i­ly His­to­ry: High­er risk for men whose fathers or broth­ers have had prostate cancer. 
  • Age: Men over 50 have a high­er risk than younger men. 
  • Race: More com­mon in African-Amer­i­­can men. 

• Symp­toms to watch for: Dif­fi­cul­ty uri­nat­ing, blood in urine, and pelvic dis­com­fort. How­ev­er, ear­ly stages often have no symptoms. 

You only get one body, so it’s essen­tial to take care of it. This Men’s Health Month, pri­or­i­tize your well-being by adopt­ing healthy lifestyle habits, keep­ing up with pre­ven­tive care, and striv­ing to be your health­i­est self. 

Sched­ule an appoint­ment with a Pri­ma­ry Care Provider at The South Bend Clin­ic today.