Heart attack or panic attack? Why young men in Australia calling ambulances for unmanaged anxiety
Men are around half as likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder compared to women. Some feel pressure to be fearless and hide their emotions.
Others simply don't understand or have the language to describe anxiety symptoms.
This has serious consequences.
Our latest research shows young men are turning to ambulance services when their symptoms become overwhelming some even think they're having a heart attack.
So why do so many men wait until they need to call emergency services, rather than seek support earlier from a GP or psychologist? And what prompts them to call? We reviewed the paramedic notes of 694 men aged 15 to 25 years in Victoria, Australia, to find out.
Young men haven't seen others asking for help Boys are raised to value courage, strength and self-assurance, and to suppress vulnerability.
When parents encourage boys to face their fears, rather than offering emotional comfort and tenderness, anxiety gets positioned in conflict with masculinity.
This leads to a disjuncture between the support young men are met with (and come to expect) from others, and the support they may want or need.
This also means boys grow up believing their male role models dads, brothers, grandads, coaches don't get anxious, deterring boys and men from seeking help.
As a result, anxiety goes undiagnosed and opportunities for early intervention are missed.
Recently, we have seen positive shifts challenging restrictive masculine stereotypes.
This has improved awareness surrounding men's depression opening up conversations, normalising help-seeking and leading to the development of men's mental health programs and resources.
However, men's anxiety remains in the shadows.
When anxiety is talked about, it's not with the same weight or concern as depression.
This is despite men's anxiety having harmful health impacts including turning to alcohol and drugs to cope, and increasing the risk of male suicide.
What does anxiety look like? When men are encouraged to talk about anxiety, they describe various challenges including repetitive worries, feeling out-of-control and intense physical symptoms.
This includes a high heart rate, shortness of breath, body pains, tremors and headaches.
Jack Steele, a prominent Australian personality and one half of the Inspired Unemployed, opened up about his anxiety difficulties on The Imperfects Podcast last year saying: "I didn't know what anxiety was. I thought I was the opposite of anxiety. The way I explain it, it's like [ ] your whole body just shuts down. My throat starts closing up and my whole body just goes numb. [ ] It feels like you're just so alone. You feel like no-one can help you. You genuinely think the world's ending like there's no out."
These physical symptoms are common in men but can be frequently dismissed rather than recognised as anxiety.
Our research has found that, when left unaddressed, these symptoms typically worsen and arise in more and more contexts.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
2 days ago
- First Post
Hunger or disease? What's the truth behind the viral image of starving child from Gaza?
The heartbreaking image of a crying Gazan child, with his spine protruding from his skin, in his mother's arms is hard to miss. It has become a symbol of the starvation and hunger crisis unfolding in the enclave. However, is there more to this visual than meets the eye? Are we unaware of the condition of 18-month-old Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq? read more Hidaya, a 31-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her sick 18-month-old son Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, who is displaying signs of malnutrition, inside their tent at the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. This image has become symbolic of a famine in Gaza. AFP When you think of the hunger crisis in Gaza, there's one image that comes to mind. It's of a woman cradling her crying baby boy while one can see his sharp spine — so defined, it might poke though his thin skin. In fact, this viral image, which appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world and was used by broadcasters including the BBC, CNN and Sky, has now come to become the symbol of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, it seems that this image isn't depicting the whole image. In fact, it's become the centre of an information war, with a pro-Israel media outlet claiming that the boy in the image suffers from genetic and other disorders, which has lend to his pitiable condition. So, what's going on? Tale of Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq Amid the ongoing food crisis in Gaza as a result of Israel reportedly blocking aid, an image appeared of a tiny child in his mother's arms, with the gauntest of bodies. The image of this boy was taken by Ahmed al-Arini and distributed by Anadolu Agency, the Turkish state news service. Speaking of the image, Arini said that the boy in the image is 18-month-old Mohammed Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq and it was taken after they were displaced from their home in north Gaza. Hidaya, a 31-year-old Palestinian mother, cradles her sick son in Gaza. This image quickly went viral with Australian PM Anthony Albanese also being moved by it. AFP He further explained that he took the image of the boy in his mother's arms to 'show the rest of the world the extreme hunger that babies and children are suffering from in the Gaza strip'. He added that Muhammad had not received milk, formula or vitamins and was living in a canvas tent, which resembled 'a tomb'. 'If you look at the photo closely, you will also see that Muhammad is wearing a plastic bag instead of diapers because of the lack of any humanitarian aid and the lack of any medicines,' said Arini to BBC. Image goes viral, breaks people's hearts Soon after Arini clicked the image, the gut-wrenching snapshot of Muhammad soon appeared on the front pages and on media portals to portray the starvation in Gaza. The Daily Express called the visual, 'a horrifying image encapsulating the 'maelstrom of human misery' gripping Gaza.' It further reported, 'Muhammad (1), …weighs the same as a three-month-old baby, as famine slowly snuffs out life… Hunger and suffering has now reached a level never seen before with at least 12 children dying from malnutrition in the past 48 hours alone.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Similar versions appeared in different outlets such as The Guardian, NBC News, Daily Mail and the New York Times. The image of the 18-month-old being depicted on the front pages of UK newspapers, The Daily Express and The Guardian. Image Courtesy: @ In fact, the NYT in its report quoted Muhammad's mother, Hidaya, as saying, 'I walk the streets looking for food. As an adult, I can bear the hunger,' she said. 'But my kids can't.' The report quoting her says that Muhammad was born a healthy child. 'I look at him and I can't help but cry,' she said. 'We go to bed hungry and wake up thinking only about how to find food,' she added. 'I can't find milk or diapers.' Muhammad's image was so overwhelming that it even prompted Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to react. 'For anyone with any sense of humanity, you have to be moved by that, and you have to acknowledge that every innocent life matters, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian,' Albanese said. The Australian PM further told ABC's Insiders, 'A one-year-old boy is not a Hamas fighter, and the civilian casualties and death in Gaza is completely unacceptable. That boy isn't challenging Israel's right to existence, and nor are the many who continue to suffer from the unavailability of food and water.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD More than meets the eye However, it now seems that there's more to this image than what has been shown and depicted. Pro-Israel journalist David Collier claims that the viral visual 'is not the face of famine. It is the face of a medically vulnerable child whose tragic situation was hijacked and weaponised'. He claimed that the media outlets chose to ignore the other images that the photographer took which shows his three-year-old brother Joud as being healthy. He adds that Muhammad suffers from cerebral palsy, has hypoxemia, and was born with a serious genetic disorder. He wrote that the 18-month-old has required nutritional supplements since birth. Moreover, a medical report issued in Gaza in May 2025 confirms all of this, he adds. Let me just start with other images the media chose not to use. Photographs of Mohammed with his 3-year-old brother Joud. Both mother and brother are healthy and fed. Any honest journalist should have immediately questioned – and reported - what we were actually seeing. 3/13 — David Collier (@mishtal) July 27, 2025 Collier claimed that by doing this, media outlets were 'deliberately pushing a deceptive narrative that only serves to benefit Hamas and create fake news.' He also called out the New York Times on its report that claimed that Muhammad's father was killed by the Israelis when he stepped out to 'look for food'. 'Turns out he was killed on October 28, 2024. He was killed in a targeted strike on 'al Qassabeeb' street in Jabaliya,' wrote Collier in his report. Another pro-Israel monitor Honest Reporting also backed up Collier's claims, which further accused news outlets of failing to reveal the boy's reported pre-existing diseases. 'Every outlet that promoted this false narrative must update their coverage to reflect the full truth: Muhammad has a medical condition,' the organisation wrote Sunday. 'He is not simply a victim of starvation, and the image has been presented in a misleading and incomplete way.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Other such claims prop up But the veracity of the image of Muhammad isn't the only such instance that has emerged amid the ongoing Israel war. Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano published a front-page photo last Thursday of a malnourished child, headlining it as 'Is this a child?' However, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) claims that the subject of the photo, five-year-old Osama al-Rakab, suffers from a serious genetic illness that is unrelated to the ongoing war, and is currently undergoing treatment abroad. This is what a modern blood libel looks like: A sick child. A hijacked photo. A lie that spreads faster than truth. His name is Osama al-Raqab. He has cystic fibrosis, a serious genetic illness. He's been in Italy receiving treatment since June 12. Israel enabled his medical… — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) July 28, 2025 On June 12, Israeli authorities coordinated his exit from Gaza via the Ramon airport, along with his mother and brother, and he is receiving medical treatment in Italy, COGAT claimed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Tragic images rightfully stir strong emotions, but when they're misused to fuel hatred and lies, they do more harm than good,' read a statement on COGAT's English-language X account. 'Don't let compassion be exploited for propaganda. Check the facts before parroting blame.' Starvation widespread in Gaza While disputing claims of the images continue, international agencies and UN organisations claim that Israel is blocking aid, exacerbating desperate conditions for the territory's approximately two million people. The Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry has said that the total number of deaths due to hunger in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, have risen to 127, including 85 children. Facing growing international pressure, Israel announced last week that it would begin to allow Arab countries such as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to resume airdropping aid packages into Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) then announced Sunday that its forces would begin a daily 'tactical pause' for humanitarian purposes in three areas: Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Musawi. With inputs from agencies
News18
7 days ago
- News18
Australia to reduce US beef import restrictions denounced by Trump as ban
Melbourne, Jul 24 (AP) Australia will reduce restrictions on US beef imports after US President Donald Trump criticised what he described as an Australian ban on the meat, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said. Collins said Thursday that relaxing the restrictions designed to keep Australia free of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, among its cattle herds would not compromise biosecurity. 'Australia stands for open and free trade — our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this," Collins said in a statement. Australia has allowed imports of beef grown in the United States since 2019. But Australia has not allowed imports from the US of beef sourced from Canada or Mexico because of the disease risk. But the US has recently introduced additional movement controls that identify and trace all cattle from Mexico and Canada to their farms of origin. US cattle import controls satisfy Australian authorities Australian authorities were 'satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks," Collins said. 'Australia bans — and they're wonderful people, and wonderful everything — but they ban American beef," Trump told reporters then. 'Yet we imported USD 3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don't blame them, but we're doing the same thing right now," Trump added. Lawmaker fears appeasing Trump endangers Australian cattle industry Opposition lawmaker David Littleproud suspected the government was endangering Australia's cattle industry to appease Trump. 'I want to see the science and it should be predicated on science. I'm suspicious of the speed at which this has been done," Littleproud told reporters. 'We need to give confidence to the industry, but also to you (the public): this is not just about animal welfare, this is about human welfare, this is about BSE potentially coming into this country and having a human impact, so I think it's important the government's very transparent about the science and I don't think it's even beyond the question to have an independent panel review that science to give confidence to everybody," he added. Around 70 per cent of Australian beef is exported. Producers fear that export market would vanish overnight if diseases including mad cow or foot-and-mouth disease infected Australian cattle. Will Evans, chief executive of Cattle Australia who represents more than 52,000 grass-fed beef producers across the nation, said he was confident the agriculture department had taken a cautious approach toward US imports. 'The department's undertaken a technical scientific assessment and we have to put faith in them. They've made this assessment themselves. They've said: 'We've looked at this, we've looked at the best science, this is a decision that we feel comfortable with,'" Evans told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'When you have a 75 billion (Australian dollar, USD 50 billion) industry relying on them not making this mistake, I'm sure they've been very cautious in their decision-making," he added. US beef prices rise because of drought and a domestic cattle shortage Beef prices have been rising in the US due to factors that include drought and shrinking domestic herd numbers. The average price of a pound of ground beef in the US rose to USD 6.12 in June, up nearly 12 per cent from a year ago, according to US government data. The average price of all uncooked beef steaks rose 8 per cent to USD 11.49 per pound. Australia's opposition to any US tariffs will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secures his first face-to-face meeting with Trump. Albanese and Trump were to hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada last month, but the US president left early. top videos View all Albanese expects the pair will meet this year, although no date has been announced. The two countries have had a bilateral free trade deal for 20 years and the US has maintained a trade surplus with Australia for decades. (AP) GRS GRS (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Time of India
Meta unveils wristband for controlling computers with hand gestures
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills The prototype looks like a giant rectangular wristwatch. But it doesn't tell the time: It lets you control a computer from across the room simply by moving your a gentle turn of the wrist, you can push a cursor across your laptop screen. If you tap your thumb against your forefinger, you can open an app on your desktop computer. And when you write your name in the air, as if you were holding a pencil, the letters will appear on your by researchers at Meta , the tech giant that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, this experimental technology reads the electrical signals that pulse through your muscles when you move your fingers. These signals, generated by commands sent from your brain, can reveal what you are about to do even before you do it, as the company detailed in a research paper published Wednesday in the journal a little practice, you can even move your laptop cursor simply by producing the right thought. "You don't have to actually move," Thomas Reardon, the Meta vice president of research who leads the project, said in an interview. "You just have to intend the move."Meta's wristband is part of a sweeping effort to develop technologies that let wearers control their personal devices without touching them. The aim is to provide simpler, quicker and less awkward ways of interacting with everything from laptops to smartphones -- and maybe even to develop new digital devices that replace what we all use of these technologies are years away from widespread use. They typically involve tiny devices surgically implanted in the body, which is a complicated and risky endeavour. These implants are tested solely with disabled people who cannot move their arms and hands, and need new ways of using computers or smartphones. Neuralink , a Silicon Valley startup founded by Elon Musk, aims to implant chips under the skull, beside the brain. Synchron , run by an Australian neurologist, hopes to implant devices inside blood vessels in the neck. These efforts, like those of many other startups, aim to read brain activity directly -- an enormously complex process that must be tailored to the is taking a simpler approach. Its technology does not require surgery. Anyone can strap on the device and start using it. Using artificial intelligence techniques, Reardon and his team have identified common electrical signals that appear when a person moves a finger, wrist or thumb."This idea -- this kind of technology -- is not new, it is decades old," said Dario Farina, a professor of bioengineering at Imperial College, London, who has tested the technology but was not involved in the research. "The breakthrough here is that Meta has used artificial intelligence to analyze very large amounts of data, from thousands of individuals, and make this technology robust. It now performs at a level it has never reached before."Meta's wristband uses a technique called electromyography, or EMG, to gather electrical signals from muscles in the forearm. These signals are produced by neurons in the spinal cord -- called alpha motor neurons -- that connect to individual muscle these neurons connect directly to the muscle fibres, the electrical signals are particularly strong -- so strong that they can be read from outside the skin. The signal also moves much faster than the muscles. If a device like Meta's wristband can read the signals, it can type much faster than your fingers."We can see the electrical signal before you finger even moves," Reardon has long provided a way for amputees to control prosthetic hands. But technologies that use the technique as a computer interface are only beginning to 2012, three Canadian entrepreneurs founded a company called Thalmic Labs, which built an armband called Myo that sent simple computer commands using hand gestures. With the swipe of a hand, for instance, you could switch to a new slide in a PowerPoint presentation. But the company discontinued the product several years started similar research after founding a company called Ctrl Labs with two other neuroscientists he had met in a Ph.D. program at Columbia University. In 2019, the startup was acquired by Meta, where it now operates within a research operation called Reality Labs Although Reardon and his colleagues have been privately demonstrating their technology for years, they are only now beginning to publicly share their work because it is now mature enough for the marketplace. The key development is the use of AI techniques to analyse the EMG collecting these signals from 10,000 people who agreed to test the prototype, Reardon used a machine learning system called a neural network -- the same breed of AI that drives ChatGPT -- to identify common patterns in this data. Now, it can look for these same patterns even when a different person is using the device."Out of the box, it can work with a new user it has never seen data for," said Patrick Kaifosh, director of research science at Reality Labs and one of the neuroscientists that founded Ctrl to Reardon, who is also known as the founding father of the Internet Explorer web browser at Microsoft , Meta plans to fold the technology into products over the next few years. Last fall, the company demonstrated how its wristband could be used to control an experimental version of its smart glasses, which can take photos, record videos, play music and verbally describe the world around technologies from Neuralink and Synchron, Meta's wristband could also provide new options for disabled people. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon are testing the wristband with people who have spinal cord injuries, allowing them to use smartphones and computers even though they do not have full use of their arms or people with these types of injuries retain the ability to activate at least some of their muscle fibers. This allows the device to read what their brain is trying to do, even though their bodies can't actually make it happen."We can see their intention to type," said Douglas Weber, a professor of mechanical engineering and neuroscience at Carnegie a similar way, Meta's wristband lets you control a computer with the appropriate thought. Merely thinking about a movement is not enough. But if you intend to make a movement, the wristband can pick up on what you aim to do -- even if you do not physically move."It feels like the device is reading your mind, but it is not," Reardon said. "It is just translating your intention. It sees what you are about to do."When you move your arm or hand or finger, the number of muscle fibers you activate varies depending on how big or how small the movement is. If you practice using the wristband long enough, you can learn to activate a tiny number of fibres without actually moving your fingers."We can listen to a single neuron. We are working at the atomic level of the nervous system."
