Monday marks two-thirds of the way through Movember, the annual mustache-growing fundraiser for prostate cancer and men’s health.
Part of the annual fundraiser focuses on the importance of mental health, and a former Canadian Olympian shares how difficult it was for him to adjust to life after retiring in 2018.
“It took a lot of work, conversations with my family, my wife, my therapist,” figure skater Patrick Chan told CityNews.
“I’m just glad I’m on the other side in a way and got the job done. It’s really made my life a lot happier.”
Chan says becoming a father has shifted his priorities from seeking recognition in medals and money to recognizing value in experiences and people.
“I feel like most men don’t feel comfortable talking about how they’re doing mentally or what struggles they’re going through.
“Like myself, I found it really difficult to express how I was feeling or what issues I was going through.”
Chan says conversations with his wife, family and therapist helped him get to the “other side” of his mental health issues.
“Even someone like me, who on the surface has had a lot of success, when you hear the real story behind each individual, they all have some kind of struggle, and sometimes just having someone to talk to is enough.” A great place to start.” , he said.
This November also marks the 20th anniversary of Fluffy Upper Lips Month, 17 of which were here in Canada.
Movember was originally intended to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer. Since then, Movember has evolved beyond just growing a mustache to support multiple aspects of men’s physical and mental well-being.
“Travel aficionado. Twitter scholar. Writer. Extreme coffee guru. Evil pop culture fanatic.”