On Why We Think Men Hate Visiting the Doctor
In a ladies world, a simple headache, cut on a finger or stomach ache means that the first stop is a hospital. However, contrast this with men.
Trying to get a man to see a doctor can be harder than pulling teeth. In my humble opinion, men have an ego that makes them believe that they have to be strong even where that proof of strength is not necessary.
Going to hospital is not a priority for them. Men are not willing to make a lifestyle change often thinking that it is a waste of time listening to a doctor especially a male doctor tell them to change the way they eat, to start exercising and stop smoking since they are not going to do so anyway. So, why waste time, they think?
Perhaps the only way they may begin to listen is if their doctor happens to be female, since men love impressing women so they would perhaps do their best and do as instructed by the female doctor so that on subsequent visits, they impress her.
In addition to male ego, society too puts pressure on “men to be men” or to “man up” as they say which means that illness or sickness is often perceived as a weakness. While most men regard visiting the doctor is a waste of time or not worth fitting in in to their ‘busy’., schedules, the sad fact is, year after year, many men even die from preventative illnesses. It has been said that the late Steve Jobs (former CEO, Apple computers), delayed treatment for his cancer for 9 months, by which time it was too late. What a pity the world lost a genius. A word of advice: you can never be too busy to save your life, for you only live once. There is no dress rehearsal in life.
Men also hate embarrassments, they hate exposing their life to people. They tend to be conservative i.e. it’s hard to convince a man to go and have a prostate cancer screening, they can only do so when the signs are already openly visible by which time, they cannot hide it anymore.
So, ladies, nag your man to visit the hospital, despite how hard it may seem, it is for the good of both of you. This will, to a greater extent, prevent infecting one another with diseases that could otherwise be screened and cured or controlled at an early stage. Men, put your egos in your pockets for the sake of your life and please get a check up. To get a male perspective on this topic, please click link to read my colleague Mitch’s views – http://goo.gl/a2q0DJ
