Men's Health Australia April 2021

deal with the fear of sucking as a dad

STEVEN RINELLA, 46, has been charged by a grizzly, stung by a bullet ant and stomped by a moose, but what hurt him the most was the size of a sesame seed: a tick. Over four decades, Rinella has developed a “practice with the outdoors”, a skill set to avoid and cope with danger in all sizes: that tick gave him Lyme disease. “It’s all about knowledge, preparation and being aware of your surroundings,” he says. What’s scary for him is the stampede of anxiety that comes with trying to be a great dad to his three kids, ages 10, eight and five. “Those fears are not fun to anticipate, deeply perplexing and hard to train for,” he says. “The greatest fear is that your kids turn out to be…

identify your hidden fears

Dr Phillip Atiba Goff, cofounder of the Center for Policing Equity at Yale University, surveyed more than 700 police officers in 2018 to better understand how bias impacts public safety. One finding seemed ironic: police who were afraid of being seen as racist were more likely to resort to coercive tactics when dealing with community members. This, Goff explains, is a stereotype threat, a concern with being evaluated in terms of a negative stereotype about one’s group. It often leads to underperformance, and while not tied to fear, may be exacerbated by it. “When we’re in a fear state, we’re also often in a scarcity mindset,” he says. “You start hoarding resources, like information. Stereotypes are shortcuts that help us make better sense of the world.” Those shortcuts backfire for a number…

fear: the power list

1 Across all five years, corruption among government officials ranked at the top, with 77 per cent reporting they were “afraid” or “very afraid” in 2019. 2 From not even making the top-10 list in 2015, concerns about pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes hit second spot in 2019 at 68 per cent. 3 Worries about loved ones becoming seriously ill moved into the top ten in 2016 and appeared again in 2018 and 2019, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. 4 Pollution of drinking water first made the list in 2017 and hit 65 per cent in 2019. 5 Fear of people I love dying is a consistent fear, rising from 38 per cent in 2016 to 63 per cent in 2019. 6 The only other fear to make the list every single year, running out of money, has perpetually eked…

bulk orders

Prepping is nothing new: batch-cooking meals for the week ahead is an eminently sensible strategy that will save you time, effort and money. But ever since the term became a hashtag, #mealprep has been far more closely associated with the fitness crowd than the thrifty – a matter of delivering calibrated macronutrients, while eliminating impulsive mealtime decisions. Like all Instagram food pics, #mealprep posts are designed to be ostentatious and eye-catching. But rather than celebrate food, they divert attention back to the prepper. “Look at how disciplined and organised I am!” they proclaim. Hence prepping’s reputation for being, well, joyless. But minding your nutrition doesn’t have to mean condemning yourself to dull and repetitive dishes. Follow this simple formula and you can create mix-and-match lunches with all the nutrients and flavour…

hidden depths

“THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!” That’s the war cry in Highlander, the enjoyably mindless action/fantasy romp about immortal warriors trying to lop one another’s heads off. Yet what if you applied this same logic to your wristwear? Not in a decapitation-with-broad-sword-while-soundtracked-by-Queen kind of way, but as a process of natural selection. More specifically, if you were only going to have one watch, then what sort would it be? Clearly, there are various criteria to consider here. The watch in question would need to be sufficiently robust to stand up to your full-contact lifestyle. Decent water resistance and legibility would be definite plus-points, too. And if you’re limited to a single watch then it should also be versatile enough to look suitably professional at work while not out of place if you’re…

see the signs

THIS ABBREVIATED CODED KEY CALLED CONSPIR WAS DEVELOPED BY DR JOHN COOK AND PROFESSOR STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY IN THE CONSPIRACY THEORY HANDBOOK. USE IT TO TRACK TROUBLED TRUTH-SEEKING CONTRADICTORY Conspiracy theorists can simultaneously believe in ideas that are mutually contradictory. For example that Princess Diana was murdered but also that she faked her own death. OVERRIDING SUSPICION Conspiratorial thinking involves a nihilistic degree of skepticism towards the official account. NEFARIOUS INTENT The motivations behind any presumed conspiracy are invariably assumed to be nefarious. SOMETHING MUST BE WRONG Although conspiracy theorists may occasionally abandon specific ideas, those revisions don’t change their overall conclusion that “something must be wrong”. PERSECUTED VICTIM Conspiracy theorists perceive and present themselves as the victim of organised persecution. At the same time, they see themselves as brave antagonists taking on the villainous conspirators. IMMUNE TO EVIDENCE Conspiracy theories are inherently…