By Aaron Cordy
MEN are often forgotten when the pressures of life take over. Well-being and mental health can often take a backseat as the old school mentality of getting on with the job takes over leaving men feeling like there is nowhere to turn.
That is why Tony Rabah founded the Male Hug, to help break the stigma around men’s mental health and get them to opening a dialogue in a supportive way.
“I saw a lot of professional guys going through a lot of stuff with their mental health, and just not talking about it. And I went through my own journey back when the GSC (Global Financial Crisis) was happening back in 2008-2009, so I decided to do something about it. In August of 2001 I founded the Male Hug,” said Tony.
Tony engaged a board of volunteers and began organising programs and supports, including an 1800 My Buddy line (1800 692 833) that people can call and speak to a trained buddy and Kick A Goal for Mental Health.
In October, the Male Hug holds TalkTober, with ambassadors like Group CEO of the Institute of Public Accountants IPA Andrew Conway, Matthew Richardson, Tim Mannah and Kevin Sheedy AO, which gets men talking about what really matters.
“This year, we are doing something a little different, we’re ‘Passing the Mic’ and connecting with our friends. The whole campaign is about raising awareness for men’s mental health and doing something about it by engaging people with conversations about it,” said Tony.
TalkTober will be officially launched in the coming weeks, but you can register your interest now at www.themalehug.com.au.
“We want to amplify, raise as much awareness as possible, so that people who generally don’t talk see this and see that ‘Oh, S***, Kevin Sheedy has done a video, Matthew Richardson has done a video.’ I’ll get behind this.
“It’s in every household; we know that from the stats. Everybody on the planet is going through some form of mental health, the earlier we start the conversation, the better.”
