Mid-Life Man

paperbarkwp
Oct 1
6 min read

Busselton Men's Shed, Tuesday, 23 September 2025

It’s always great to be in the company of people who are interested in taking charge of their own health and wellbeing, and Tuesday night was no exception.

A huge thankyou to all the panellists: Dr Steve De Luca (anaesthetist), Leah Hardy (naturopath), Ben Robinson (gym co-owner), Adrian Kemp (counsellor) and MC Genevieve Morrissey (counsellor).

We'd particularly like to thank Steve and Ben, who have a passion to help change how men deal with mental health issues after moving through their own challenging experiences over the last few years. Both, without any prior public panel experience, put their hands up to be part of what turned out to be a wonderful evening of sharing heartfelt experiences, self-reflection and knowledge with a fully engaged audience.

We would also like to extend our gratitude to the fabulous community men's health and wellbeing organisation MenAble, whose offer to partner with the Paperbark Wellness Project (PWP) to bring you our 10th Paperbark Conversations event was very welcome and much appreciated.

Thanks also to the Busselton Men’s Shed for a great venue for the evening.

Not forgetting our fabulous volunteers Jo, Jeff, Delia, Karen and Genevieve, who make these nights tick along seamlessly.

Whilst the PWP has addressed topics in the past that have broad-based appeal, this was our first foray into a topic specifically looking at men, and we are so grateful that so many of you put your faith in us to deliver a night full of information, connection and learning.

Your feedback (the most we’ve ever received from an audience) was very affirming and supportive, and we will now look at what else we can offer you in 2026.

The PWP strongly believes that knowledge and connection are powerful for building resilience and increasing our own sense of wellbeing.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

We originally felt that Mid-Life Man was such a wide topic that we could get lost in it, but once we’d found our panellists we were able to reduce this big topic down to a few core issues that were key for them based on their experiences - fear of vulnerability, feeling isolated, fear of failure, and lack of connection to themselves and to others.

The power of listening to “lived-experience” stories firsthand is that we can often see ourselves in the speaker and immediately feel a connection with them and with some aspect of their story. It’s like an instant validation for a part of us that we dread to expose because of our own preset beliefs and feelings about ourselves, usually very detrimental ones that we hide for fear of rejection. Watching others give themselves permission to be brave and open can often inspire us to do the same; it can give us hope.

“We’re all in the same boat” featured on many of the feedback forms, as did acknowledgement of the power of sharing and the openness demonstrated by the panel through their diverse stories.

Many of you noted down the strategies adopted by the panel to help them navigate their way through their experience and to maintain good mental and physical health.

The information below is merely a snapshot of what was discussed on the evening, but it might just jog your memory of the things that resonated with you as you read through it.

Strategies

Don’t ignore the warning signs of too much stress. They can be physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
Movement/exercise is super important. It's a great way of relieving stress and helps your body to process your stress hormone levels. If you are also mindful while you exercise, this can help you harness a feeling of aliveness within your physicality, giving you a better sense of connection to yourself. It can also connect you with likeminded people.
Look for balance in your goals, pursuits and ego. An over-focus can kill the progression and connection. Try to be purposeful rather than goal-oriented.
Seek professional help – be brave, be open and be honest with yourself.
Seek out connection with others – by volunteering and participating in your community you can help build that community and become a vital link in the chain of your community. What you give out, you can get back.
Study what people who are well and happy do, and think of ways to copy their habits.
Find yourself a mentor – ask someone who is active in all the above if you could catch up for a coffee once a month for a chat/walk/game/activity/cuppa.
Consider becoming a mentor yourself.
Get exploring – risk moving out of your comfort zone to explore different ideas and activities.
Remember that it is not a sign of weakness to take just small steps. In fact, this can be quite a profound way to move forward.

Take good care of your body

Heart disease is the No 1 killer of men - see a GP once a year for a general health check.
Look out for signs of "just not feeling right" in yourself, even if you can’t put your finger on any one symptom, and get yourself to a healthcare practitioner or GP.

"The greatest wealth is health" Virgil

Gut issues and mental health struggles are often linked, so pay attention to your gut.
Be mindful of your hormones:
- There is a natural decrease in testosterone as men age - low testosterone affects motivation, sleep, mood and sex drive.
- Overactivity of the stress hormone cortisol can contribute to weight gain and an imbalance of many other hormones, making it more difficult for your body to regulate itself.
Reduce your alcohol intake. It is a depressant.

Sleep:
- We need a lot more than 6 hours per night; anything below this amount can increase ageing by 40%.
- Loss of sleep worsens your insulin resistance and this can cause testosterone to drop as well as contribute to weight gain, especially belly fat.
- As little as 2 alcoholic drinks at night can reduce your sleep quality by at least 10%.
- Sleep clears a lot of toxic buildup and improves your mood for the next day.

Take charge of your health before it takes charge of you.

See a nutritionist, naturopath or other practitioner who is the full bottle on men’s health to partner with you and to help you find an optimal level of good health.

Perimenopause and women's hormonal health

Many of you also commented on how grateful you were for the section on women’s hormonal health. It too is a huge topic, and there is now plenty of information online to help you become even more informed. Here, to get you started, are a couple of links to check out:

Perimenopause and menopause: a guide for partners - an article by leading menopause specialist Dr Louise Newson
7 Things Men Need To Know About Menopause - video by Dr Shauna Watts

Here is a sample of the comments we received on what you liked about the event:

The sharing and openness of participants - loved hearing from the lived experience men
Diverse stories, inspiring messages from different sectors of the community
Good cross-section of information
Informative, relaxing, friendly and welcoming atmosphere
Having similar experiences to a large group of other men
Good practical advice – very relatable
Good to see lots of blokes there - the turnout
It was a really positive evening

Many of you asked for more of the same or something similar, and we hear you!

The PWP will be meeting for its AGM at the end of the year, and we will definitely be looking to secure funding so that we can schedule more events that cater to the mid-life guy. So, stay tuned.

Once again, thank you so much for coming along. Here, lastly, are the links for most of the panellists: