Symptoms of Male Depression
Men who are depressed are more likely to talk about their physical state than their emotional or psychological one. They may visit their family physician, who focuses on their high blood pressure and unhealthy life style, but may not ask the questions that will yield clues to their emotional suffering. Their mental illness remains undetected.
Actually, the term “mental” or “emotional” illness is a misnomer. Depression is a medical disorder - just like diabetes and high blood pressure are medical disorders – that affects a person’s thoughts, feelings, physical health and behaviors.
To complicate the picture, depression is often viewed as a “woman’s disease.” According to the Wall Street Journal (4/24/07), “twice as many women as men are diagnosed with depression, fueling the belief that depression is a woman’s health issue.” This imbalance in rate of identification may occur not because there is a difference between the genders in the prevalence of depression but rather in its manifestation. Early on, men who are depressed do not appear weepy and sad. Only in the more severe stages of clinical depression do men and women display similar symptoms.
How dare you wake me up! Don’t you know that today is the only day that I can rest? Don’t I work hard enough the rest of the week to give you everything that you want?
Unpredictable bouts of explosive anger are telltale signs of illness. These symptoms may or may not be signs of depression; only a licensed professional can properly diagnose the cause. But psychologists have observed that “(depressed) men are more apt to be irritable and angry – moods that aren’t included in the classic diagnostic tests. Their sadness and helplessness are hidden behind a mask of anger.” (Readers’ Digest, January 2007, p. 132)
For this reason, many physicians now routinely screen their patients, both male and female, for depression. For example, one effective screen for depression consists of only two questions, as follows:
1. During the past month, have you often been bothered by feeling down, depressed or hopeless?
2. During the past month, have you often been bothered by little interest or pleasure in doing things?
A response of “yes” to either of these questions indicates the need for further exploration and possible referral to a mental health professional. Responses of “no” to both questions, without any conflicting evidence, significantly reduce the likelihood that the person is depressed.
Thus there are tools to detect depression in men. But, as with most illnesses, the signs that there is a problem often appear before a visit to a professional.
Increased education and awareness about its symptoms are the key to preventing the consequences of depression. A man’s friends and relatives are in the best position to notice that something is wrong. They may observe that he seems anxious and irritable, or unusually quiet and unable to talk about things. He may complain about vague physical symptoms or report that he is performing less well at work. He may feel tired all the time, appear unable to concentrate or make decisions, and express disinterest in being with his family and friends. He needs help.
Consequences
The risks of untreated depression are very serious. When a man is depressed his personal and professional lives suffer. In his quest for relief he may turn to other means to help himself. He’ll plunge into his work, take an extra drink or two at meals and in-between, or look to food or drugs as a source of comfort. These ad hoc remedies lead to worse troubles. He may destroy the very relationships that he seeks to protect and cause irreparable damage and pain. He will also jeopardize his health.
A man who is depressed may have difficulty with concentration or memory. In a study published this month in the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, those individuals who most often experience negative emotions such as depression were 40 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI, which is characterized by short-term memory loss, can be a predictor of Alzheimer’s disease.
Depression has also been linked to heart disease and strokes even when controlling for all other risk factors, such as cigarette smoking. Depressed men are at 80% higher risk of having “sudden cardiac death.” Overall, men with depression are more than twice as likely as men without depression to die of any cause.
Equally frightening is the fact that suicide rates are four times higher for men than for women. Older men, age 65 and beyond, have higher rates of completed suicide than older women.
Hence it is crucial that men receive treatment for their illness. It is the job of our society to change its view of mental illness as a character flaw, sign of personal weakness, or lack of faith. Depression is not the same as sadness and a person cannot will himself or herself out of it. Depression is an illness that is real, that is treatable and that can be fatal.
