Male depression: Understanding the issues
Male depression is a serious medical condition, but
many men try to ignore it or refuse treatment. See what's behind this so
that you can move toward healthy changes.
Are you irritable, isolated and withdrawn? Do you find yourself
working all the time, drinking too much alcohol, using illicit drugs or
seeking thrills from risky activities?
If so, perhaps you're being chased by what Winston Churchill called
his "black dog" — male depression. Churchill attempted to
ward off his black dog of male depression with compulsive overwork and
excessive drinking. For male depression, the coping strategies —
unhealthy ones — may be reckless driving, risky sex or shutting
yourself off from the world.
But none of these can keep male depression at bay for long. Even
worse: When you have male depression, you're also at an increased risk
of suicide.
The issues behind male depression
Depression affects about 6 million men and 12 million women in
America each year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
But the big difference in these numbers may not tell the whole story.
While it may seem as if men are less affected by depression, that
assumption may not be entirely true. Researchers are trying to
understand how and why male depression may be different from female
depression, and any implications for treatment. Although the issues
remain open to debate and uncertainty, they include the possibilities
that:
 | Male depression may often go undiagnosed
| Men and women may experience different depression symptoms
| Men with depression are more likely to die by suicide than are
women with depression
| Men may need an emphasis on learning healthy coping skills |
| | |
Male depression may go undiagnosed
Male depression may not be as widely recognized as female depression,
and therefore men with depression may go undiagnosed. These reasons may
include:
| Reluctance to discuss depression
symptoms. As a man, you may not be open to talking about
your symptoms, especially emotions and feelings, with family or
friends, let alone with a health care professional. This means you
may not get properly diagnosed or treated for male depression.
| Seeing mental illness as a threat to
your masculinity. Like some other men, you may have learned
to place an emphasis on independence, competitiveness, emotional
stoicism and self-control. You may think it's "unmanly" to
express feelings and emotions associated with depression and instead
try to suppress them.
| Masking depression symptoms.
Depression symptoms in men may be less readily apparent. For
instance, you may mask depression symptoms by alcohol or substance
abuse. Also, you may focus on physical symptoms of depression,
rather than emotional or behavioral problems. And your depression
symptoms may not match typical depression symptoms. All of these can
make it more difficult to detect male depression and may even lead
to a misdiagnosis.
| Resisting mental health treatment.
Even if you are diagnosed with male depression, you may refuse
treatment. You may worry about stigma damaging your career or about
losing the respect of family and friends. |
| | |
Male depression symptoms
Whether it's because of hormones, brain chemicals or coping methods,
some evidence suggests that you may experience depression differently
from how a woman does.
Signs and symptoms more likely to occur with male depression include:
| Violent or abusive behavior
| Inappropriate rage
| Escapist behavior, such as overinvolvement in work or sports
| Risky behavior, such as reckless driving
| Sexual liaisons
| Alcohol or substance abuse
| More frequent thoughts of suicide |
| | | | | |
Having these kinds of symptoms can make it more difficult to link
them to depression, making diagnosis and treatment harder.
Male depression and suicide
Although women attempt suicide more often than men do, men are more
likely to complete suicide. Older white men are at the greatest risk of
suicide.
Men may be more likely to complete suicide because:
| They use methods that are more likely to be lethal, such as guns
| They act faster on suicidal thoughts
| They show fewer warning signs, such as talk of suicide |
| |
When you have suicidal thoughts
If you have thoughts of suicide, get help as soon as possible. If you're
considering suicide right now and have the means available, talk to
someone now. The best choice is to call 911 or your local emergency
services number. If you simply don't want to do that, for whatever
reason, you have other choices for reaching out to someone:
| Contact a family member or friend
| Contact a doctor, mental health provider or other health care
professional
| Contact a minister, spiritual leader or someone in your faith
community
| Go to your local hospital emergency room
| Call a crisis center or hot line |
| | | |
Male depression and coping skills
Like other men, you may feel that your depression symptoms aren't
severe. You may believe that you should be able to just get over them or
tough them out. You may try to deny depression symptoms, ignore them or
blunt them by drinking too much alcohol, taking illicit drugs or working
longer hours.
But these kinds of attempts at coping with male depression will
likely just leave you chronically unhappy and miserable, and possibly at
risk of losing your life.
It takes effort to practice healthy coping skills rather than
automatically turning to alcohol, speeding or frequent sex. Treatment
with a doctor or mental health provider can help you learn healthy
coping skills. These may include:
| Goals. Set realistic goals
and prioritize tasks.
| Support. Seek out emotional
support from a partner or family or friends. In general, men tend to
disregard the value of emotional support in coping with male
depression.
| Activities. Engage in
activities you enjoy, such as exercise, movies, ball games or
fishing.
| Decisions. Delay making
important decisions, such as changing jobs, until your depression
symptoms improve. |
| | |
Many effective treatments are available for depression. So don't try
to tough out male depression on your own. The consequences may be
devastating.
References
