Kids Helpline is encouraging boys and young men to take time to prioritise their mental health. Males are shown to have significantly reduced help-seeking for men­tal health concerns compared with females.

Kids Helpline recorded 57 contacts from males on an average day in May 2025, when compared with 195 females on the same day.

Counsellors at Kids Helpline respond to 21% males and 79% females on any given day, with males aged between 19 to 25 years of age representing the largest (37%) male help-seeking group.

Kids Helpline is Australia’s only free, pri­vate and confidential 24/7 phone and on­line counselling service for young people aged 5-25, here for children and young people, anytime and for any reason. No is­sue is too big or too small.

Kids Helpline offers boys and young men a safe, inclusive space to open-up and con­nect with our free, professional, confiden­tial 24/7 service to support self-awareness, and tools to help manage strong emotions when they struggle.

Kids Helpline is Australia’s only national 24/7 counselling service specifically for children and is a free service – free call 1800 55 1800 or www.kidshelpline.com.au

The latest NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) quarterly up­date reveals domestic violence assaults in regional parts of NSW have risen to even more alarming levels.

In the March 2025 quarterly report, do­mestic violence-related assaults increased by 3.6%, with rises recorded in 8 of 13 Regional NSW areas and 3 of 15 Greater Sydney locations. In some areas, the rate of violent crime is more than double the state average.

Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole said the latest report gave a sobering re­minder of the reality of domestic violence in NSW.

“The lack of decisive action from the NSW Labor Government is leaving victims in regional communities vulnerable and al­lowing domestic violence incidents to in­crease,” Mr Toole said.

“We cannot continue to have innocent lives lost or permanently affected by acts of violence in their own homes.

“The cries from the bush are going unan­swered by this city centric government and this cannot go on.”

In 2024, the NSW Police Force attended 152,268 domestic and family violence inci­dents equating to on average NSW Police officers responding to 560 domestic and family violence incidents each day.

Community pharmacy plays an important role in supporting men’s health, and this men’s health week (9-15 June the Pharma­cy Guild of Australia is calling on patients to pop in for a chat with their community phar­macist.

Brad Butt is a community pharmacist and founder of Men’s Health Downunder. He has specialised in men’s health, specifically urological health and understands the role that a community pharmacy can play in sup­porting men to recover and build their con­fidence.

“Men are less likely to visit a GP and often delay their treatment,” says Brad Butt. “We need to make it as easy as possible for men to access care – and community pharmacy can play a key role in that. On average, peo­ple visit a community pharmacy every three weeks.”

“That means we are in a privileged posi­tion where we are able to have private con­versations with patients to check in on their progress and identify where additional sup­port may be helpful,” Brad Butt adds.

“All men should know that there is support out there for sensitive or ‘embarrassing’ is­sues – they are not alone and men should be able to access treatment and care wher­ever they live.”

“The ability to have discreet conversa­tions at community pharmacies about medi­cation, devices, continence support, erec­tile function and testosterone management can help men access the care, support and treatment that they deserve.”

If you’d like to see a Physio for a personalised consult, please give us a call on 0437 749 746.

Is there anything more powerful than a woman moving furniture around her house, alone, on a timeframe (before the baby wakes up)? I ponder this thought as I carry our large microwave/oven from the kitchen to its new resting place: in the laundry on top of the drinks fridge. The husband was not on board with this idea. “Leave it on the bench”, he says, “that makes the most sense”. It does, of course, seem sensible to have a kitchen appliance residing in the kitchen. But the kitchen has been newly renovated, with beautiful white pressed tin as a splashback, so the large, yellowed mi­crowave felt out of place and took up valu­able bench space.

So I decided to move it. Grunting, I shuf­fle to the outside laundry, using all my en­ergy to carry the remarkably heavy metal box, praying my c-section scar would be up to the task.

No doubt, you’ve moved heavy furniture too. Or on the farm, you’ve lifted a heavy, wet ewe from the mud onto the back of a motorbike or ute. Maybe you regularly lift a drum of roundup, or the fat labrador that refused to “get up”. We ask a lot of our bod­ies, and sometimes, they give out on us.

Ever noticed when a tennis player hits the ball, they groan, or when a boxer makes a punch, they blow out through pursed lips? It’s how they let go of air during exertion: decreasing the pressure inside their body.

I’ve seen so many farmers that come to see me, after a hernia repair and I ask, how’d you do it? Often they aren’t sure – which terrifies them, as they don’t know if it will happen again.

Often, they are the breath-holders. Got to lift the tractor tyre? They’ll take a deep breath in, fill up the lungs with air, put maxi­mum pressure on their abdomen, hold their breath and then lift a ridiculous weight, the perfect storm for a hernia or disc bulge to appear: a sign of a pressure system under great strain.

How to decrease the strain and still get the job done? Take a breath in, then breathe out as you lift. Your pelvic floor, back, and potential hernias will thank you for it.

Yours in pursuit of regular home-rear­ranging,

Rach x

Diabetes- Diabetic retinopathy is the lead­ing cause of avoidable vision loss and blindness in working-age Australians.

It is a chronic disease that occurs when there is too much glucose in the blood. This happens because the body is not produc­ing insulin or not using insulin properly.

This National Diabetes Week, we’re shin­ing a light on something many people don’t realise: your eyes can be one of the first places diabetes shows itself.

At Hansen Optometrist Parkes, we often see patients who feel perfectly fine and have good eyesight, but their eye exam has revealed early signs of diabetic eye disease.

Diabetes can quietly damage the small blood vessels in the retina which we call di­abetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy can be seen long before symptoms appear and leads to permanent vision loss. The good news? Early detection of diabetic retinopa­thy through regular eye checks can prevent severe vision loss.

If you live with diabetes, or are at risk due to family history, weight, or lifestyle, then a yearly eye exam is vital. It’s quick, painless, and could save your sight and at Hansen Optometrists Parkes we have the latest technology to assess your eye health.

Visit us at 267a Clarinda Street, Phone 6863 5577 or book online at hansenoptom.com.au

Vee Vian Higgins is pictured administering a flu vaccination to Teresa Knowles at Parkes Pharmacy. If you want to en­quire about a flu vaccination you can contact Parkes Pharmacy (02) 6862 2411 or parkes@lifepharmacygroup.com.au

Influenza cases are rising fast across Aus­tralia with many cases already confirmed across the country, a jump of more than 50 per cent from this time last year.

It’s a timely reminder for families and vulnerable members of the community to speak with healthcare providers about vac­cination.

The best time to get vaccinated is from now, peak flu season is from June to Sep­tember, so we want as many people as pos­sible protected and vaccinated against influ­enza before that peak season hits to take pressure off our doctors and hospitals.

Quite often long weekends and school holidays are a time for family gatherings, you might be seeing the older relatives in your family, or those with babies, and we want to protect those individuals. It takes two weeks to get full protection from the vaccine so now is the opportune time.

The flu vaccine is recommended for all Australians over six months of age with modelling suggesting influenza cases may be higher than reported.

Those who are at more risk of serious illness and hospitalisation have access to free flu vaccinations under the National Im­munisation Program (NIP). Little ones under five years, adults who are 65 and over, those people with chronic medical conditions that put them at risk of having more severe disease, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and pregnant women are the ones we really want to pro­tect with vaccinations, so the government has a free vaccine for them to get that pro­tection.

Patients who would like the flu vaccina­tion are encouraged to speak with either their local pharmacist, or GP, to determine which vaccine is suitable and who qualifies for the NIP. For more information on the Na­tional Immunisation Program (NIP) you are encouraged to visit: www.health.gov.au/topics/immunisation/vaccines/influenza-flu-vaccine