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continued:

Male depression: Understanding the issues

Male depression and suicide

Although women attempt suicide more often than men, men are more likely to complete suicide. Men may be more likely than women to complete suicide because:

  • They use methods that are more likely to be lethal, such as guns
  • They act more quickly on suicidal thoughts
  • They show fewer warning signs, such as talking about suicide

When you have suicidal thoughts
If you think you may hurt yourself or attempt suicide, get help right now:

  • Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.
  • Call a suicide hot line number — in the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255) to reach to a trained counselor.

If you're feeling suicidal but you aren't immediately thinking of hurting yourself:

  • Reach out to a close friend or loved one — even though you may be reluctant to talk about your feelings.
  • Seek help from your doctor, a mental health provider or other health care professional.
  • Contact a minister, spiritual leader or someone in your faith community.
  • Call a suicide crisis center hot line.
  • Make an appointment with your primary care doctor or other health care provider or mental health provider.

Get help when you need it

Asking for help can be hard for men. You may not recognize your depression symptoms or you may downplay your feelings. You may see depression as a weakness and be reluctant to bring it up with your doctor.

But without treatment, depression is unlikely to go away, and it may get worse. Untreated depression can make you and the people close to you miserable. It can cause problems in every aspect of your life, including your health, career, relationships and personal safety.

Depression, even if it's severe, usually improves with medications or psychological counseling (psychotherapy), so don't try to tough out depression on your own. If you or someone close to you thinks you may be depressed, talk to your doctor or a mental health provider. Have the courage to ask for advice or seek help when you need it.

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.

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References
  1. Men and depression. National Institute of Mental Health. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/men-and-depression/complete-publication.shtml. Accessed Sept. 14, 2010.
  2. Jonson J. DSM-V: Toward a gender sensitive approach to psychiatric diagnosis. Archive of Women's Mental Health. 2010;13:17.
  3. Kelly MM, et al. Sex differences in the use of coping strategies: Predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Depression and Anxiety. 2008;25:839.
  4. Seedat S, et al. Cross-national associations between gender and mental disorders in the World Health Organization world mental health surveys. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2009;66:785.
  5. Depression and men fact sheet. National Alliance on Mental Illness. http://www.nami.org/PrinterTemplate.cfm?Section=Depression&Template=/ContentManagement/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=89095. Accessed Sept. 14, 2010.
  6. Van de Velde S, et al. Gender differences in depression in 23 European countries. Cross-national variation in the gender gap in depression. Social Science & Medicine. 2010;71:305.
  7. Schreiber J, et al. Suicidal ideation and behavior in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 14, 2010.
MC00041 Nov. 12, 2010

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