In 1860, two notable occurrences took the Victorian-era world, as we knew it then, by storm. The first was that Abraham Lincoln, a man who had lost eight elections in his political career, eventually clinched the title of “sixteenth president of the United States of America”.
Although not as popular and attention-grabbing as the first, the second occurrence was a written statement that would define the perception of history and influence this particular blog post.
American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, gave us a life-changing quote in 1860. Composed of five magic words, this quote may just be the mantra you need for the rest of this year:
“The first wealth is health.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
This brings us to adopt the philosopher’s culture of asking questions.
Why is the concept of health in wealth indispensable? Do you have to sacrifice your mental health for wealth?
Must “hustle” be necessarily accompanied by a decline in mental well-being? What are the ways to prioritize your mental health?
In this blog post, we’ll answer these questions while examining health as necessary in pursuing wealth and the implications of society pressuring men to pursue wealth. In addition, we’ll also be discussing ways to prioritize your mental health and the importance of the Whealth campaign.
Let’s get right into it!
What is Whealth?
The big question!
“What is Whealth?”
“Is Whealth even a word?”
No, man. It isn’t. At least, not until we invented it at Boys Without Borders.
Whealth is an awareness campaign by Boys Without Borders Nigeria. The inspiration for Whealth stems from two words: wealth and health. These words work hand in hand and what do you know? Boom! Whealth came to be.
Aside from the undeniable chemistry of the keywords, the Whealth campaign exists for the following r-eee-sons:
- To emphasize the importance of health in the pursuit of wealth.
- To initiate widespread conversations around men’s mental health and correct wrong notions.
- To educate the public on the negative implications of societal pressure on men’s mental health
Why Whealth?
To better understand the theme “Whealth”, we must take one step back in time.
Ding-ding. Welcome to June! It’s Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. With you on the show today is Boys Without Borders NG, delivering a short presentation on why the issue of men’s mental health needs to be taken with utmost priority in June, July, August…
Back to the present: Whealth is the theme of our awareness campaign for Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
Again, going back in time, we have discovered that men’s mental health concerns were not allowed to ‘exist’ at some point because of historical perceptions of manliness.
Although men’s mental health concerns have begun gaining traction in today’s world, there is still the need to intensify efforts relating to mental health awareness for men.
Now, one of the foremost triggers of mental health issues for men is societal pressure on the man to conform to society’s stereotype.
“Men must be this. Men must be that.”
“You’re not a man if you don’t do this.”
In our first Whealth story, we had Richard Ogunjimi state that his earliest memory of the pressure to fend for himself as a boy began at 13 years.
This corroborates the fact that boys are not spared when it comes to societal pressure. The cycle moves from boyhood to manhood.
All these thoughts necessitated the need for a campaign that would capture the goal of raising awareness for men’s mental health and address the implications of societal pressure to pursue wealth without considering mental health.
To sum it up, Whealth is a multi-faceted word that combines the words ‘wealth’ and ‘health’ to show the need to pursue wealth with good mental well-being.
How Society Puts Pressure on Men to Pursue Wealth
Disclaimer: Society may just be you!
The typical role of the man in society is to pursue wealth, and his self-esteem is largely hinged on his ability to carry out this role effectively.
This warrants expectations from the boychild as soon as he takes his first breath of society’s precious air.
The pressure increases as adulthood approaches, during the man’s twenties. First comes the look. Society compares you with the measure of success an ideal man is supposed to achieve.
The questions come next. People get bolder and ask questions that make you worry and lose confidence in your abilities.
“What work are you doing now?” and “When will you get married?” are two of the questions young men often face.
Although these questions have an angle of concern to them, we cannot deny the underlying prying eyes of society, trying to see if you’re measuring up.
In addition, unanswered questions may lead to harmful suggestions by seemingly concerned members of society.
Surrounded by numerous propositions, the man becomes more pressured to take decisions concerning his future. The noise from society is overwhelming.
Unbeknownst to many, these actions by members of society affect men’s mental health negatively. Thus, we can understand the necessity of men’s mental health awareness.
Common Ways Men’s Mental Health Suffers In Their Pursuit of Wealth
Scene 1:
Akpan, a fresh graduate, works at a fast-food restaurant and earns N80,000 monthly. While scrolling through a social media platform, he sees a tweet from an old secondary school classmate, Udoh.
“Any man earning below N250,000 should just stock up on heels and skirts.”
Scene 2:
Shola, a married man, works 8 hours a day to feed his family of four. Due to inflation and subsequent rising costs, it has become impossible to afford any extras.
His wife, Shade, has made it her duty to remind Shola every evening, before he goes to sleep, about how his mates are working two jobs.
Shola is 29. Shola’s skin is sagging. Shola has been having migraines too.
These scenarios will be perfectly relatable for millions of men today, struggling against many factors in their pursuit of wealth. They also show us practically, some of the reasons for mental health decline in men.
Like the Gen-Z would say, ‘These are the issues’.
Moving on, here are three common reasons for men’s mental health decline in their pursuit of wealth:
- Perfectionism
- Insecurity
- Balancing professional and personal lives
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Perfectionism
Many men set high standards for themselves to meet up with an ideal image. It does not help matters that a boy-child’s upbringing is often focused on how to revolve his existence and importance around what he can give and how he can provide.
Most times, these standards that men set for themselves are neither contextual nor realistic, and failure to achieve corresponding work goals may lead to depression.
This is not to say that setting standards or goals is wrong. However, ensure you factor in contexts (your earnings, career projection, upbringing, and environment, among others) and try as much as possible not to fall victim to the pressures of social media lifestyles.
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Insecurity
The struggle to find wealth may result in feelings of inadequacy when things aren’t working out as expected.
In some cases, men can get exposed to the wrong company. Then, we have the works – drugs, and substance abuse. This is more reason for mental health issues.
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Balancing professional and personal lives
Many men double as fathers and employees/employers. However, every man has a life outside of the workplace. There is a need to maintain important social relationships. This may be difficult to achieve in the quest to attain wealth.
Practical Ways To Prioritize Your Mental Health As A Man
It’s not enough to list the issues; solutions must be proffered. Here are three ways to prioritize your mental health in your pursuit of wealth:
- Take a break
- Journaling
- Reach out
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Take a break
Rest is not something to be trivialized in the pursuit of wealth.
Not having enough hours of sleep can affect your brain function, which in turn would affect your ability to pursue wealth effectively.
Taking time to rest or taking a break from work improves your mood and revitalizes you to be more productive.
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Journaling
Journaling is not “a girl thing”. It’s an everybody thing and an effective way to give your mental health the utmost attention. Sarah D. Rees, cognitive behavioral therapist, says that journaling should be a priority especially because you are busy and overwhelmed.
Journaling could also be great if you consider speaking to people about your concerns and struggles emasculating.
Writing how you feel and elaborating your thoughts helps with self-awareness and problem-solving.
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Reach out
Many men like to keep their work problems to themselves, but you should change that narrative.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or insecure, speak to a trusted friend or seek professional help from a therapist. Reaching out for help or support is one of the best ways to prioritize your mental health. Isolation is never the answer. It just strengthens depression.
Benefits of Finding Ways To Prioritize Your Mental Health In Your Pursuit of Wealth
There is nothing like hearing the benefits of mental wellness from other men. Let’s see what some men have said about prioritizing mental health and its impact on work.
Shawn Theunissen, founder of Property Point, enumerated the consequences of not prioritizing one’s mental health as a business owner or entrepreneur on eNews Channel Africa (eNCA).
Some of the points raised are burnout, fatigue, depression, and the high level of suicide rates. He also stressed the importance of a ‘time-out’ to improve mental health.
In 2017, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, expressed the impact of seeking counseling and prioritizing mental health on Bryony Gordon’s podcast, Mad World.
In coping with emotional trauma, he sought help and he admitted that the process helped him to take his work and private life seriously.
Lastly, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, has also shared his views on the importance of self-care and work-life balance.
According to Bezos in his interview with Axel Springer, “The reality is if I’m happy at home, I come into the office with tremendous energy, and if I’m happy at work, I come home with tremendous energy”.
This phrase emphasizes that mental wellness should be paid attention to for work-life harmony.
In conclusion, the pursuit of wealth is not a do-or-die affair, and the best kind of wealth is acquired in good health.
Dear men, learn to be intentional about finding ways to prioritize your mental health. It won’t make you ‘less of a man’ like you’ve been made to think.
Cheers to growth & a future with a 5-star mental health status.
Ebunoreofe Adedeji is a serial volunteer and a content writer with a flair for food writing. She heads the Content Team on Boys Without Borders’ Directorate of Media and Communication.
