The men who come to Balance Atlanta, fitting into the difficult cases niche, are those who realize it is time to turn their health around. While they do seek care from their primary MD, they recognize the importance of holistic health.

Someone asked why women tend to seek alternative health care, get annual physicals, and generally strive to prioritize wellness more than men.

While there are exceptions, the general observation is that health becomes an issue for men when their quality of life is interrupted – there is something they should be able to do but can’t – as in sexual performance, playing golf, or eating what they want, for example. Typically, a prescription drug is the temporary solution – or so it seems. Pop a pill, cover up the symptoms, all is well. By shutting off the warning system, a level of denial is at play.

As time marches on, no one is getting younger. There is often a naïve expectation coming from middle-aged men that they should be able to drink, work, exercise, do without adequate sleep, and partake in (and recover from) other indulgences to the same degree as they did when they were 20.

However, life is vastly different than it was decades ago, with greater responsibilities –

Career pressures, financial obligations, marriage(s) that may or may not be fulfilling, raising kids who may or may not be on the right path, meeting social expectations, less time, more weight, more significant stress, and often more questions than certainty about life purpose. The fight or flight stress response sizzles beneath the surface, inflammation quietly raging throughout the system.

For men who have taken an active role in health, they continue to move forward in life with the wind in their sails.

Yet for others, those who have neglected their well-being, there comes a fork in the road where A) they admit they’re not healthy and seek help or B) they keep traveling a journey of denial until they are hit with one or many health crises:

  • Addiction to food, drugs, porn, internet, gambling, alcohol
  • Ulcers
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Kidney stones
  • Ruptured appendix
  • Heart attack or stroke
  • Cancer
  • Diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
  • Debilitating musculoskeletal issues and nerve damage
  • Anxiety, depression, and apathy

While we can mitigate or ignore symptoms for a period of time, invariably, the consequences of neglect will be known, often with dire consequences.

Every single condition will negatively impact a marriage, parenting, earning potential, retirement, self-esteem, and fulfillment.

The men who come to Balance Atlanta, fitting into the difficult cases niche, are those who realize it is time to turn their health around. While they do seek care from their primary MD, they recognize the importance of a holistic health. The potential lifelong sentence of prescription drugs, infirmity and possibly an early death are not desirable options. These patients are able let their guard down, talk to Dr. Caroline in confidence, and get answers with objective and measurable plans of action offered at Balance Atlanta.

It takes a courageous man to drop the “pressure cooker” mentality in favor of rerouting their quality of life. It is not about being strong and stubborn; it’s about being prudent and realistic – after all, a family depends on you to be around for a good long while. When a male patient says to Dr. Caroline, “Not another day like this. I’ll do whatever the blank it takes.” She knows, her client is ready to commit. Game on – let’s drop excuses, get serious and tackle health (not sickness) as a project.

Statistics
  • On average, 1 in 8 men will have depression and 1 in 5 men will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives.
  • Many men experience “depression without sadness,” which makes it more challenging for primary care physicians to make the diagnosis of depression. Some of the symptoms of this kind of depression include severe anxiety, physical discomfort, sleep disorders, and diminished energy and self-confidence as some of its primary symptoms.
  • Men—more commonly than women—are likely to feel angry, irritable, and frustrated rather than sad when depressed.
  • Men tend to cope with depression differently than women. Instead of withdrawing from the world, men may act recklessly or develop a compulsive interest in work or a new hobby. Instead of crying, men may engage in violent behavior.
  • Men are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol when in the midst of a depression, perhaps to find relief from the pain of depressive feelings. This can make it difficult to determine whether a problem is specifically alcohol-or-drug-related or whether it is primarily depression.
  • Men often report physical symptoms more often than women, such as headaches, joint pain, backaches, dizziness, chest pain, and digestive problems. However, they are often unaware that these symptoms are linked to depression.
  • Although suicide is not one of the main causes of death in men overall, it is the single most common cause of death in men under 35.
  • Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States, killing 307,225 men in 2009—that’s 1 in every 4 male deaths.
  • Between 70% and 89% of sudden cardiac events occur in men.
  • Men are at slightly higher risk of developing diabetes than women, but age, excess weight (particularly around the waist), family history, physical inactivity, and poor diet are also significant risk factors for the illness.
  • Cancer mortality is higher among men than women (207.9 per 100,000 men and 145.4 per 100,000 women).
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