Male Depression

We have talked earlier about depression and its signs and symptom. Today I wanted to adress depression in men as it may manifest itself very differently then in women. In the United States, depression affects nearly 2.75% of men (3 million men). And those are just the ones that have reported the depression.

As a whole depression in men has gone underreported. This may be becuase men are less likely to recognize and acknowledge the symptoms than women or because the symptoms are different.

"When it comes to depression in men, to some extent we have blinders on," said Dr. Andrew Leuchter, a psychiatrist who studies depression at UCLA. "We have not been asking about and taking into account a range of symptoms that may be gender-specific."

Men with depression often aren't diagnosed for several reasons. Some of them include:

• Failure to recognize depression. You may think that feeling sad or emotional is always the main symptom of depression. But for many men that isn't the primary depression symptom. For example, headaches, digestive problems, fatigue, irritability or chronic pain can sometimes indicate depression. So can feeling isolated and seeking distraction to avoid dealing with feelings or relationships.
• Downplaying signs and symptoms. You may not recognize how much your symptoms affect you, or you may not want to admit to yourself or to others that you're depressed.
• Reluctance to discuss depression symptoms. As a man, you may not be open to talking about your feelings with family or friends, let alone with a health care professional. You may think it's not "manly" to express feelings and emotions associated with depression, so instead you suppress them.
•  Resisting mental health treatment. Even if you suspect you have depression, you may avoid diagnosis or refuse treatment. You may avoid getting help because you're worried that the stigma of depression could damage your career or cause family and friends to lose respect for you.

Like women, men with depression may feel blue, feel tired, have difficulty sleeping and not get pleasure from activities they once enjoyed. But other behaviors in men that could be signs of depression — are not recognized as such. These include,

• Escapist behavior, such as spending a lot of time at work or on sports
•  Alcohol or substance abuse
•  Controlling, violent or abusive behavior
•  Irritability or inappropriate anger
•  Risky behavior, such as reckless driving

This info is from the below websites.
http://www.nami.org/

http://www.mengetdepression.com/

http://www.hopetocope.com/Item.aspx?id=530

 

Here is another Great article in the NY times-
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/28/science/la-sci-depression-men-20130829