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Male depression: Understanding the issues

Male depression is a serious medical condition, but many men try to ignore it or refuse treatment. Learn the signs and symptoms — and what to do.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Do you feel irritable, isolated or withdrawn? Do you find yourself working all the time? Drinking too much? These unhealthy coping strategies may be clues that you have male depression.

Depression can affect men differently than it does women. When depression occurs in men, it may be more severe than in women and can be masked by unhealthy coping behavior. For a number of reasons, male depression often goes undiagnosed. Male depression usually gets better with treatment, but it can have devastating consequences when it goes untreated.

Male depression signs and symptoms

Depression signs and symptoms can differ in men and women. Men also tend to use different coping skills — both healthy and unhealthy — than women. It isn't clear why men and women may experience depression differently. It likely involves a number of factors, including brain chemicals, hormones and life experiences.

Like women, men with depression may feel blue or may not get pleasure from activities they once enjoyed. But a few other things commonly show up in men that may not be recognized as depression signs and symptoms:

  • Escapist behavior, such as spending a lot of time at work or on sports
  • Alcohol or substance abuse
  • Controlling, violent or abusive behavior
  • Inappropriate anger
  • Risky behavior, such as reckless driving
  • Infidelity or unhealthy sexual relationships

Male depression often goes undiagnosed

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

  • Failure to recognize depression. If you're like many men, 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 anyone else that you're depressed. But ignoring, suppressing or masking depression with unhealthy behavior won't make it go away.
  • 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. Like many men, you may have learned to place an emphasis on self-control. You may think it's "unmanly" to express feelings and emotions associated with depression, and instead you may try to 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.
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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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