
Movember 2024: The importance of men’s mental health
As a company, we’re taking a stand on men’s health.
Sadly, suicide is the leading cause of death among men aged 20-34 years, with every 3 out of 4 suicides in the UK being by men (Movember).
We spoke to our Assistant Underwriters Tom Richards and Jack Beresford who shared their thoughts on the importance of speaking out about mens mental health.
Tom says “Mental health is a serious topic that needs to be discussed more with young men. Don’t feel embarrassed to talk to your friends or family if something is wrong, it does not make you less of a man – it could save your life.”
Jack shared his thoughts and says “Mental health is such an important topic to discuss, and historically men don’t talk enough. Talk to your friends or family if something is wrong. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Don’t go through something alone.”
As well as the devastating statistics of male suicide, we’ve also been educating ourselves on the other health issue that affects thousands of men in the UK – prostate and testicular cancer.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men in the UK. While 1 in 8 men in the UK will unfortunately be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Clark Gardiner, 538 Senior Underwriter, reflects on this and says “The older I get the more I hear of cancer affecting those around me and the more keenly I see it affecting people. Too often we feel something isn’t right whether physically or mentally and put it to the back of our mind until it’s too late, we’re busy, we’ll deal with it next week, out of sight out of mind. Well, what if next week was your last week?
It is so, so important to check in on people and to feel it is ok to check in with other people not put it to the side. Don’t leave your health to the last minute.”
By 2030, Movember has committed to:
- Reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.
- Halve the number of deaths from prostate and testicular cancer.
- Reduce the number of men taking their own lives by 25%.
Daniel Landau, 538 Assistant Financial Controller, says “Movember is a great charity that tackles issues some of us don’t want to talk about, but because of their work, we’re all feeling more comfortable to, which could save so many lives.”
We believe that every conversation can make a difference, and every act of kindness matters. Take this as your opportunity to check in with your colleagues, friends and family.
Back to posts