Man Down: A Guide for Men on Mental Health

by Charlie Hoare

How often do you put on a "coping" front, when in reality you're troubled with insecurities and anxieties? Do you find it difficult to open up about how you're feeling?

 

You might be surprised to learn that you are not alone, and that many men find it challenging to talk about their worries. From tips on how to reach out, to advice on navigating mental health issues, this volume is full of guidance on how to look out for your well-being. Topics covered

 

With personal experiences and insights, this book will improve your awareness of mental health, offer tools and techniques to enable you to manage it better, and help you to live a happier, healthier life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2020

Reviews

[Amy Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously I was not the target audience, but for the most part this had pretty standard (albeit under-utilised) advice: talk to the people close to you about how you feel, exercise regularly, practise mindfulness, moderate your consumption of stimulants, check on your mates. Unsurprising but helpful.

Right in the middle, Hoare extols the mood-boosting power of massages, and causally suggests men seek massages from their friends. Maybe this is what we are missing? I spoke to one army officer who said he and his mate used to comb each others' hair every morning they were posted in Iraq.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delves into the abyss that is male mental health, providing help, and helping understand its uniqueness. This book focuses on societal expectations of men and boys concerning mental health. Therefore some of science might have some universal relevancy and appeal, helping to understand this topic further.

[Nick Loy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to help with your mental health! It breaks through the stereotype that men can’t connect with their feelings and express them. Definitely worth reading!

[Nur Fikri · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A great book on how men, how all of us, can connect thorough vulnerability and grow together." -Russell Brand

As a simple way to explain, I get this book as a gift from my wife at the Big Bad Wolf 2023 @Tropicana Gardens Mall.

When I read the title of this book, the title resonated strongly with how I was feeling to live a tiring adult life. Sometimes, I couldn't stop my brain from the loop of overthinking and catastrophizing my life journey.

Man Down by Charlie Hoare (CH) is such an eye opener book for all men especially when it comes to open up about how we're feeling just now.

CH explains briefly to us on how I might be surprised to learn that are I'm not alone on find it difficult to talk about the state of vulnerability.

CH also explains about this matters:
✅ What's the problem to the man?
✅ What is the overview of mental health?
✅ Normalizing mental health
✅ Self care and mindfulness methods
✅ How to open up and communicate
✅ Where and when to seek help.

In this book, I found a good term in psychology that really explains our state of struggle. That is normative male alexithymia. It defines a situation where the way that we (men) brought up to behave in society conflicts with the emotions that feel and express.

CH nurturing us to challenge the traditional masculine stereotype in an effort to get men to open up more about how they’re feeling. The fact that men are twice as likely as women to take their own lives is largely down to the fact that we don’t ask for help when we’re facing one of life’s many challenges.

After of all ups and downs in our life, we need to remember one thing, true strength comes from acknowledging that you are struggling and making attempts to manage how you are feeling.

I ended my review with this quote,
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." - Albert Einstein

Hopefully this book will inspires others men to do the same action to take care of themselves as well as to live longer with the good purpose.

[James Uscroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although as a man who already knows a great deal about mental health and suicide prevention, this book wasn't for me, that's precisely and entirely the point! Because instead, this is a super-short, practical and ultra-accessible guide for the countless men who've never even picked up a pamphlet from their GP, let alone read a book on mental health, and would probably even be afraid to do so.

Therefore, while I completely understand and agree with the reviews criticising the book for its brevity, simplicity and even feeling as if it's plagiarised, it's important to remember that this is emergency first aid guide, not a medical text book. And as such, I can't recommend it enough as a gift to any man you know who would never buy this book themselves, but could probably use this advice. (Meaning basically any man alive.)

[Rory Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as in depth as I'd have liked it to be. But useful to dip in and out of.

[John Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable

[Colin Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably a good read if you’ve never read another book about men’s health. It reads like every chapter has been copied from a different book.

[Jude Morse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok advice just trying to tell you to talk to people and that everyone has problems which is very true.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice idea and important book. Not much complex information and a lot of common sense. However us men tend to ignore common sense when it comes to mental health and talking about it. So useful to see the facts written down.