The School of Greatness - 888 Your Health Is Not Shameful

Episode Date: December 13, 2019

YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEBODY. So many of us (especially men) are afraid to open up about what we’re going through. We often don’t even tell the people who are closest to us. For whatever reason, we think we have to suffer alone. But there is freedom in sharing your struggles. Whether it’s depression, low self-esteem, or something like erectile dysfunction, you need to be able to tell your doctor. For this Five Minute Friday, I revisited a conversation I had with Bill Phillips where he talked about the importance of getting help for depression and other problems. Bill is the former Editor-In-Chief of Men’s Health Magazine and the author of The Better Man Project. Learn how to talk to your doctor and confront your health issues in Episode 888. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the video, show notes and more at http://www.lewishowes.com/888 and follow at instagram.com/888

This is 5-Minute Friday! This episode is with the one and only Bill Phillips, and I'm very excited to introduce you guys to Bill. He is the editor-in-chief for Men's Health, which is the world's largest men's magazine. And during his time as the brand's online editor, Phillips quadrupled traffic from 2.5 million to a record 10 million monthly uniques. The site has been nominated for three digital national magazine awards under his leadership. And he's also the author of The Better Man Project. Depression is not a problem that's going to fix itself. It's not something that you're going to talk yourself out of. You know, and there's a difference between sort of, you know,

if you're clinically depressed and you have suicidal thoughts, I mean, that's, you know, versus the bad day, kind of, you know, quote-unquote depression. I mean, obviously, those are different things. But you do need to talk to somebody. Obviously, the medications for depression are very, very good. And they do work and they absolutely do work. And there's no shame in asking for help. And I think that's, that's really ultimately with guys, with Ben, and I think

you and I both could probably attest to it. There's something about ourselves that we're too embarrassed to share with others. It holds us back. We don't want to seek help. We don't want to tell our spouse about it or our significant other. So we hide layers of ourselves from everyone. And it's important to know that like this isn't,

doesn't mean you're broken. Like if you are depressed or have low self-esteem, it doesn't mean you're broken. If you have erectile dysfunction or, you know, which is another one guys are afraid of, it doesn't mean you're broken. These are medical issues that can be treated and can be fixed. And, you know, you can't just will them away.

You can't just like pretend they don't exist. There's no shame in asking for help. And I was at a doctor, I was at Johns Hopkins about a year ago. And I love that facility. It's such a great institution. And I got to meet with a bunch of different doctors. I was in the liver center, the pancreatic center, radiology, and a few others. But I met this guy, this doctor who runs what they call the Men's Vitality Center

at Johns Hopkins. And I was asking him, I was like, men's vitality, like, what's that mean? He's like, it's sexual health. It is the place people come to when they're worried about the quality of their erections or whether they're pleasing their partner. And he's like, we call it men's vitality because men are afraid of that. They're not afraid to say to their spouse, yeah, I have an appointment over at the Men's Vitality Center because it's positive. It's like, oh, you're going to be more vital? Fantastic.

He doesn't want that, right? Right, right. So it's like even the medical institutions are kind of coming around to like coaxing men, come on in, it's okay. But the thing he said to me is, and he's like, there's nothing you can tell me about how your body's working that I haven't heard before. And men just have to get over that fear. Just like I have, my older daughter is going to be a teenager this year.

She's in middle school. And there are those days when, you know, she comes home, gets off the bus, and she wants to sit in her room. And I know something's not right. And I know it's something probably that happened at school. And she doesn't want to talk about it. And I always say to her, it's like, we've lived through this. We've been through this too, like, honey, like, there's nothing you can say that is going to be something we can't through this. We've been through this too. Like, honey, there's nothing you can say that is going to be something we can't relate to.

And as a guy going to see your doctor, there's nothing you can say that he hasn't dealt with before. Yeah. And hasn't heard before. You don't have to feel ashamed about it. Yeah. You do not have to feel ashamed to it. Whether, you know, especially like something like depression,

which is, you know, really takes, you know, not just the joy out of life, but it, whether, you know, and especially like something like depression, which is, you know, really takes, you know, not just the joy out of life, but it can also kill you. Even if you don't, you know, some people obviously decide to take their own lives, but it'll kill you in other ways too. I mean, you know,

the research around, you know, happy people, I think happy people, generally happy people live on average seven years longer than generally unhappy people. And, you know, that happy people live on average seven years longer than generally unhappy people. And, you know, that's just, that's just, you know, brain chemistry at work there. And, and, and that can be switched with, with the right treatments. Hey guys, if you enjoyed this inspirational clip from a past episode of the show, then you'll love the free book I'm giving away right now. It's called The Millionaire Morning.

It includes some of my best tips for starting off your day with a millionaire mindset. Get your free copy at themillionairemorning.com and just pay shipping. Again, check it out right now, themillionairemorning.com.