Author: fitness-expert

You can tell when a man needs a doctor, because he's either dead, or whatever is wrong with him, has dropped off! Men, it has to be said, are not very good at looking after themselves. Perhaps this is one reason why we die younger than women. If we are bad at looking after our physical health, we are even worse at looking after our emotional well-being. I am a psychotherapist who specialises in working with men and their partners. I see men all the time who leave it too late before they seek help. All too often, their relationship is on the rocks, they are struggling at work, and emotionally they don't know how they are going to cope. It is true that some men are getting much better at looking after their physical health. Magazines like Men's Health have helped to raise our awareness about the importance of nutrition and exercise. The emotional cost, however, is to promote a vision of male health and beauty which serves to undermine our self-esteem. There is another threat to our self-esteem, and that comes in the shape of feminism. Female political activism has made great strides throughout the 20th century. It is undeniable that the reforms they promoted were both urgent and necessary and, it should also be added, far from complete. Feminism, though, is a political philosophy designed around the needs of women, and leaves men with nowhere positive to turn in order to understand their experience of themselves, and their world. Not surprisingly, faced with the feminist critique, men retreat, can feel devalued, and even irrelevant. I have worked with men and their partners, since 1995. I have amassed a wealth of experience of understanding ‘what makes men tick’. It seems to me that now, more than ever before, there is the need for a voice that takes men's physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being seriously. This blog is my attempt to do just that, and I thank you for taking the time to read it. I passionately believe that all men have the right to feel good about themselves and their lives. I hope that by reading my blog, you come to create this in your own life.