HEALTH
Strong Men Don’t Have to Struggle Alone
Too many men have learned to hide exhaustion, loneliness and emotional pain behind the words “I’m fine.” Real strength begins when we are willing to tell the truth.
By Richard Oostra | The Current
Ask a man how he is doing and there is a good chance you will receive one of three answers:
“Good.”
“Busy.”
“Can’t complain.”
Sometimes those answers are true. Sometimes they are simply the quickest way to end the conversation.
Many men have spent their entire lives learning how to provide, protect, compete and persevere. We are taught to solve problems, carry responsibility and keep moving forward. Those can be admirable qualities. Families, workplaces and communities depend on men who are dependable and resilient.
But resilience is not the same as silence.
A man can appear successful while privately feeling exhausted, disconnected or overwhelmed. He may continue going to work, paying the bills and fulfilling his responsibilities while gradually losing his motivation, relationships and sense of purpose.
The warning signs are not always obvious. Struggle does not necessarily look like sadness. In men, it can appear as anger, irritability, overworking, increased drinking, reckless behaviour, poor sleep or withdrawing from the people who care about them.
The Canadian Mental Health Association advises families and friends to pay attention when a man becomes unusually distant, tired, angry or uninterested in activities he normally enjoys. These changes can be signs that something deeper is happening.
This is not a small issue. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, men account for nearly three-quarters of suicide deaths in this country, and the suicide rate among men is almost three times the rate among women.
Those numbers should force us to reconsider what we call strength.
The Pressure to Appear Fine
Many men were raised to believe that admitting pain creates a burden for others. They tell themselves that someone else has it worse, that they should be grateful or that they simply need to toughen up.
As a result, they wait.
They wait until stress becomes burnout. They wait until loneliness becomes isolation. They wait until frustration damages a marriage, a friendship or a relationship with their children. They wait until a manageable health concern becomes a crisis.
We would never tell a man with chest pain to hide it because other people have heart problems. We would tell him to get help. Mental and emotional pain deserve the same seriousness.
Asking for help is not surrender. It is taking responsibility before the damage spreads.
Busyness Can Hide Loneliness
Men can be surrounded by people and still feel profoundly alone.
Work meetings, social media contacts and casual conversations are not always genuine connections. A man may speak with dozens of people during the day without having one conversation in which he feels safe enough to be honest.
Statistics Canada has found that frequent loneliness is associated with poorer mental health and lower overall life satisfaction. Recent Canadian mental-health reporting also suggests that many men lack strong social-support networks and have never sought professional mental-health assistance.
Loneliness is not a personal failure. But ignoring it will not make it disappear.
Friendship requires effort, especially as we get older. Careers become demanding. Families require attention. People move away. Old friendships fade because neither person wants to be the first to admit that the relationship matters.
The solution does not have to begin with a dramatic emotional conversation. It can begin with a phone call, a coffee, a walk or an invitation to do something together.
Connection is built through repetition. We have to show up.
Start With What You Can Control
Mental health is complex, and practical habits are not replacements for professional care. However, our daily choices can strengthen the foundation on which better health is built.
Start with the basics.
Move your body every day. You do not need an expensive gym membership or a complicated program. Walk, lift weights, cycle, swim, work in the yard or play a sport. Exercise can provide structure, improve physical health and create opportunities for connection.
Protect your sleep. Constant exhaustion affects patience, judgment and emotional control. Staying up late scrolling through a phone is not recovery.
Pay attention to alcohol. A drink may temporarily dull stress, but it does not resolve what is causing it. If drinking is becoming the main way you relax, sleep, socialize or avoid difficult feelings, it is time for an honest assessment.
Create some quiet. Many of us fill every spare moment with news, entertainment, work or social media because silence gives uncomfortable thoughts room to surface. Those thoughts may be telling us something we need to address.
Most importantly, speak to someone. That person might be a spouse, trusted friend, doctor, counsellor, coach, faith leader or family member. You do not need a perfect explanation. You can simply say, “I haven’t been myself lately, and I think I need to talk.”
That sentence can change the direction of a life.
Check on the Men Around You
We also have a responsibility to notice one another.
If a friend has disappeared from the usual gatherings, call him. If a co-worker seems unusually angry or withdrawn, ask him privately if something is going on. If your father, brother, son or neighbour keeps insisting that everything is fine while his behaviour says otherwise, ask again.
Do not settle for “How are you?”
Try something more specific:
“You haven’t seemed like yourself lately. What’s happening?”
“I’ve noticed you’ve been pulling away. Are you doing okay?”
“You don’t have to handle this by yourself. How can I help?”
Then listen. Do not immediately lecture, diagnose or attempt to fix everything. Give the person room to speak without making him regret being honest.
A Better Definition of Strength
Real strength is not pretending that nothing hurts.
Strength is recognizing when something is wrong and taking action. It is having the courage to make the appointment, answer the phone, repair the relationship or admit that the weight has become too heavy to carry alone.
We need men who are strong enough to provide and protect. But we also need men who are emotionally present, connected to their families, involved in their communities and willing to care for their own health.
No man becomes weaker by asking for help.
He becomes more capable of showing up for the people and responsibilities that matter most.
If you are struggling, say something today. If you are worried about someone, reach out today. Do not wait for the perfect moment or the perfect words.
Start the conversation.
It may be the strongest thing either of you does.
Richard Oostra is a high-performance coach who writes about physical and mental health, discipline, resilience, relationships, purpose and building stronger communities. https://richardoostra.com/
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8 anywhere in Canada. If there is immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
Richard Oostra examines men’s mental health, loneliness and the pressure to appear strong—and offers practical ways to reconnect and seek help.
Supporting health information: Public Health Agency of Canada suicide statistics, Health Canada on men’s health, and Canadian Mental Health Association guidance.
HEALTH
Penis Enlargement Surgery, Confirms Death of Influencer Igho Ubiribo
Coroner rules UK influencer Igho Ubiribo died from a fatal pulmonary embolism following a cosmetic filler injection at a Thai clinic during a vacation.

Inquest Links Death to Hyaluronic Acid Injection
A fatal pulmonary embolism killed 43-year-old British-Nigerian businessman and influencer Igho “Tiny” Ubiribo following a cosmetic procedure in Thailand, a U.K. coroner has concluded. An inquest held at Inner West London Coroners’ Court revealed that cellular material matching the injected filler was discovered inside his lungs during a postmortem examination. Coroner Jean Harkin officially ruled that the cosmetic treatment directly triggered the fatal blood vessel blockage.
Timeline of Events in Bangkok
The incident occurred in March while Ubiribo was on a luxury trip to Bangkok with his wife, Danielle Simba Allen. At an unnamed local facility, he received a 40-milliliter injection consisting of lidocaine and hyaluronic acid into his penis. Shortly after the procedure, while receiving a massage at the couple’s Marriott hotel, Ubiribo reported chest pain and lost consciousness twice.
Although he was conscious enough to answer initial medical inquiries upon arrival at Sukhumvit Hospital via ambulance, he passed out again before doctors could administer a recommended CT scan. Medical staff identified a pulmonary embolism and moved him to the intensive care unit. Despite over 100 minutes of continuous CPR, Ubiribo died early on March 6.
Profile and Industry Context
Ubiribo, who was also known as Denisi or Ego, maintained a social media following of roughly 185,000 on Instagram and was recognized for a lavish lifestyle. His assets included a $600,000 London apartment and a $1.1 million property located in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles. He married Allen, a socialite and fashion designer, during a 2022 wedding in Zimbabwe that cost $473,000. Following his death, he was buried in London in a gold coffin reported to cost over $745,000, with attendees including music star Davido and Cubana Chief Priest.
Hyaluronic acid treatments of this type can cost up to $9,000, with effects lasting between six and nine months. Medical experts in urology from the U.K. have previously issued warnings regarding potentially devastating complications associated with these procedures.
HEALTH
Why You Might Want to Think Twice Before Wearing Shorts on a Plane
Why You Might Want to Think Twice Before Wearing Shorts on a Plane
By The Current
If you’re heading somewhere warm, shorts might seem like the obvious choice for the flight.
According to some flight attendants, you may want to reconsider.
Veteran flight attendant Charity Nelms recently offered travellers a rather unpleasant piece of advice: wear pants on the plane.
Nelms, who has worked as a flight attendant for more than a decade, says passengers would probably be surprised by what airline seats encounter between cleanings.
“I am letting you know, from a flight attendant, the amount of things I have seen on the seat,” Nelms said in a TikTok video.
Her recommendation was straightforward: avoid shorts, skirts and dresses if they leave your legs directly touching the seat.
“Wear full pants,” she urged.
And she isn’t the only flight attendant making the case.
Dallas-based flight attendant Cher Killough shared an even more graphic example, saying she witnessed four diapers being changed directly on passenger seats during a single flight.
All four, she said, contained more than just a wet diaper.
It’s the kind of information that can make you look at your economy-class seat a little differently.
How Clean Is Your Airplane Seat?
Airplanes are cleaned regularly, but the level of cleaning depends heavily on the aircraft’s schedule.
Between flights, crews generally conduct relatively quick turnaround cleanings. The priority is typically removing garbage and cleaning high-use areas such as lavatories and galleys so the aircraft can get back into service.
Aircraft parked overnight may receive a more substantial cleaning, including greater attention to passenger seating areas.
Then there are deep cleans.
Those can involve much more extensive work around seats, storage compartments and other parts of the cabin that passengers regularly touch.
The catch is that deep cleaning doesn’t necessarily happen after every flight—or even every few flights.
Schedules vary considerably between airlines.
That means hundreds of passengers may occupy a seat between more intensive cleanings.
Don’t Forget the Seatbelt
Nelms says the seat itself isn’t the only thing travellers should think about.
One of the most frequently handled items on an aircraft is sitting directly across your lap: the seatbelt.
Passengers grab the buckle, adjust the strap and pull on the belt throughout every flight.
Nelms recommends wiping down both the metal buckle and the fabric portion of the belt when you sit down.
Why?
Because everything from spilled drinks to food, baby vomit and other bodily fluids can potentially end up on them.
It isn’t exactly something airlines highlight in their safety demonstration.
And Please Wear Shoes to the Bathroom
There is another piece of flight-attendant advice worth remembering.
Don’t walk into an airplane lavatory wearing only socks.
Anyone who has flown regularly has probably encountered a mysterious wet floor inside an aircraft bathroom.
Nelms’ warning is simple: don’t automatically assume that liquid is water.
Socks also absorb whatever happens to be on the floor, meaning you’re potentially carrying it back to your seat.
Wear your shoes.
The Current Takeaway
There’s no reason to become paranoid every time you board an airplane.
But a little common sense probably doesn’t hurt.
Airliners carry hundreds—or sometimes thousands—of passengers over a relatively short period of time. Turnaround schedules can be tight, and cleaning crews don’t necessarily have the opportunity to scrub every surface between flights.
So the next time you’re getting dressed for the airport, you might want to consider three simple things:
Wear pants. Wipe down the surfaces around your seat. And keep your shoes on when visiting the bathroom.
It may not be the glamorous side of air travel.
But sometimes the things flight attendants know are exactly the things passengers would rather not think about.
HEALTH
How to Make the Best Flatbread
Recipe information
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients
250g (1 Cup) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp fine sea salt
150ml (1/2 Cup) warm water or Yogurt not both.
4 tbsp extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil, plus extra to serve
Flaky sea salt, to finish
Preparation
Method
Step 1
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt. Measure the water in a jug, stir in the oil and pour this into the flour in a thin stream, stirring well with a wooden spoon or your hands to form a slightly sticky dough.
Step 2
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until it feels smooth and plump, sprinkling on a little more flour only if the dough feels very sticky. Let the dough rest while you light the fire.
Step 3
Prepare your fire. It wants to be hot for this recipe: you need a good bed of glowing embers, and a little flame is fine.
Step 4
When you’re ready to cook and eat the flatbreads, roll the dough into a sausage shape and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Flour your work surface or board and a rolling pin, then roll out each ball into a circle, 2–3mm thick, using plenty of flour as the dough is liable to stick.
Step 5
Set a heavy-based cast-iron pan over the fire and wait until it’s very hot; you should be able to hover your hand above it for a maximum of 2 seconds.
Step 6
Shake off any excess flour from one of the flatbreads and lay it in the hot pan. Let it sit for a minute or two, until the dough looks ‘set’ on top and is starting to lift away from the pan. Carefully look at the underside and, if you can see dark brown patches forming, flip the flatbread over and cook the other side for 30–45 seconds. If the flatbread appears to be colouring too quickly, move the pan to a cooler part of the fire.
Step 7
Wrap the cooked flatbread in a cloth while you cook the others. To serve the flatbreads, trickle with extra virgin oil, then sprinkle over a pinch of flaky salt.
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