How to (Hu)Man Up in Modern Society Ebook Tooltip Ebooks kunnen worden gelezen op uw computer en op daarvoor geschikte e-readers. Heal Yourself & Save the World

Men have largely lost their way in modern society. Our culture still prepares boys for manhood that is primarily based on the traditional roles of Hunter/Provider and Warrior/Protector from the Old World. These belief systems and behavior expectations—commonly known as "toxic masculinity"—once effectively protected our communities but are now creating significant problems of their own.

"Toxic masculinity" teaches boys to "Man Up" to be "strong and independent." However, this requires that males neglect the basic human needs of themselves and other community members—causing chronic illness, addiction, mental health issues, and violence. The range of negative impacts for both Self and Community as a direct result of these expectations and belief systems is staggering and growing by the day.

It does not have to be like this!

The problems facing men in modern society are extensive, but the keys to overcoming these obstacles lies within our genetic programming as social beings. All human beings are biologically designed to heal ourselves, to heal each other, and to meet our potential for personal growth in the safety of supportive relationships. The problem lies with the outdated expectations of traditional manhood, which have not yet caught up with the health and wellness needs of men and women alike in modern society.

This book addresses solutions borrowed from research studies across a multidisciplinary approach—from Psychology, Anthropology, Religion and Philosophy—to show how a meaningful community-based lifestyle has always been the answer when it comes to health and wellness. Men must reintegrate this natural balance back into our Humanity to fulfill our sacred obligation as Providers, Protectors and Guardians--servant leaders—of an emerging Global Community.

About the Author

Logan Cohen is a professional therapist, a clinical supervisor for the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy and a serial entrepreneur in Charlotte, NC. He lives with his wife, their 5 year old son, identical twin daughters and their three dogs. Despite the enjoyment of early professional success and the beautiful gifts of a healthy and loving family, this was not always the author's life trajectory.

Logan had painful experiences with childhood abuse as a boy and like most young men, he was taught to keep personal problems private and to fight through discomfort silently in order to be seen as “strong and successful." Also similar to many other young men, this came at the cost of his own mental health. After being diagnosed with ADHD as a young boy and battling addiction as a young man in an attempt to cope with the unresolved wounds, Logan was headed for the same pitfalls that claim the lives of many men in their prime and through mid-life today.

It wasn’t all dark and gloomy though. In addition to the difficult family experiences as a boy, there was also an extended network of grandparents available to pass on the wisdom of a rich family history. Perhaps the most central of these figures early on for Logan was his “Grandpa Sam," from whom he had the pleasure of growing up only a few doors down the street as a child, where Logan was welcomed as a boy to seek refuge when the dynamics at home became too chaotic. Sam was a Holocaust survivor who was rescued from the Auschwitz Concentration Camp by Oscar Schindler and even though Logan reports he could not have appreciated the weight and depth of these life experiences as a child, themes of personal survival and community resilience became a central source of influence through the author’s own life from the beginning.

After completing an undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia, Logan answered a call to adventure as a counselor and teacher with at-risk youth in a wilderness-based correctional facility located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains for three years. It was there in a spartan natural setting with no electricity and temporary housing built with hand tools that Logan got sober from his addiction, discovered his own purpose as a natural healer and observed the healing dynamics of intentional community living. After completing what he calls his "second coming of age" in the Appalachian wilderness, Logan went back to graduate school for additional training in Marriage & Family Therapy with the aim of recreating these healing dynamics in a more modern therapeutic setting. Today Logan is a regional leader in the professional academic community, where he provides ongoing clinical training to other mental health professionals and healthcare workers around cultural competency with men, trauma recovery and violence prevention using evidence-based models.

Based on his own life experiences and healing journey, Logan decided to devote his work to serving those who are going through their own difficult life transitions by empowering them to break through barriers left from old unresolved wounds, heal themselves, and re-align with their life’s purpose for creating shared meaning with their own gifts as a valued community member.