No one’s immune to laughing at our own expense. It’s a neat way to normalise a stressful situation for ourselves and help us handle it. But this can run the risk of minimising issues if we let this become our main coping mechanism, which can lead to us downplaying our mental health.
That’s why we started the Real Talk series, in partnership with Movember, to raise awareness and have candid conversations about the state of men’s health.
Throughout this series, we’ve spoken to a variety of mental health experts, influencers and athletes to discuss topics involving Indigenous people’s struggle with navigating the healthcare system, suicide, depression, and the impact this has on their loved ones.
For our third instalment, we spoke with Aussie comedian Cameron James about using humour as a coping mechanism and how to start educating yourself about your health.
As a comedian, Cameron is all too familiar with making himself the punchline and using humour to destigmatise serious topics. But Cameron also wants men to stop downplaying their health, and to seek professional help at the earliest, despite feelings of social stigma.
A new report by Movember – The Real Face of Men’s Health found that 30% of Australian men believe that handling pain without help is a masculine thing to do. As a result, more than 60% of Australian men wait more than seven days with symptoms before visiting the doctor.
We spoke to Cameron about a recent health scare and what helped him eventually seek help.
You can read more of Cameron’s story below.
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