Men urged to take care of mental health

While it is important for men to take care of their physical health, mental and emotional well-being cannot be neglected.

Sunway Medical Centre Velocity (SMCV) consultant psychiatrist Dr Celine T.L. Chan said men, who find it difficult to talk openly about their emotions, are less likely to reach out for support.

“If a friend or a family member shows signs of mental illness such as feeling of sadness, anxiety, worry, irritability, sleep problems and losing interest in hobbies, he might need your help.

“When these feelings get very intense and last for a long period of time, it would interfere with work and relationships,” she said in a statement in conjunction with men’s health awareness month.

According to a 2021 report by Frontiers in Psychiatry, suicide rates have increased significantly for males in Malaysia between 2014 and 2019. Overall, there were 1,841 suicide deaths in 2019, or five deaths every day in the country.

Meanwhile, SMCV consultant urologist Datuk Dr Selvalingam Sothilingam urged men to conduct self-checks and seek early treatment for diseases such as cancer.

“Prostate and testicular cancers are silent killers as they show minimal symptoms.

However, with early detection, they can be cured. Prostate cancer can be confused with benign prostate hyperplasia, which is a benign condition affecting most ageing men and is far more common than cancer,” he said.

He urged men aged 50 and above with a family history of prostate or breast cancer, especially those with lower urinary tract symptoms, to consider prostate cancer screening.