Has there been a point in your life where you’ve felt vulnerable?

Maybe you got sick and it knocked you for six. Perhaps you felt especially vulnerable after losing a job or retiring. Or when you went through a relationship breakdown. Even the inevitable process of getting older can make you feel a bit less sure of yourself than you did as a younger bloke.

Maybe you felt vulnerable after a partner or loved one died.

AMSA Board Chairman Paul Sladdin lost his wife to bowel cancer this time last year and to hear Paul’s story, make sure you don’t miss this week’s edition of The Shed Wireless with host Aaron Kearney.

When times are tough, what a difference even one good mate can make.

“If you want to live well and live longer…have good friends,” says Professor John McDonald.

As well as being an AMSA Patron, John is the Director of Men’s Health at Western Sydney University. Over the years he’s done a lot of research into this and he reckons having 3 good mates you can count on is ideal.

“There’s a lot of evidence to show that…and they don’t have to be people that you talk to a lot. They should be people that you know are there for you,” he says.

“Because we know now about physical health and mental health going together. It’s very important,” John tells host Aaron Kearney on The Shed Wireless| Episode 7.

If there’s been a period in your life where you felt particularly vulnerable, when was it?

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