Men and Depression

About Men and Depression

Why do men get depressed?

How do men behave when they are depressed?

Things you need to know about men and depression:

The first thing you need to know about men and depression is that men do get depressed. More than five million of American men and 12 million European men suffer from some type of depression every year. Depression effects many men around the world and causes a lot of problems and hardships in their lives.

Even though women and depression are more often associated than men and depression, depression in men is common. The problem is that men do not seek help for their depressive disorders as much as women do and they are much less willing to talk about their depression than women are.

The second thing you should know about men and depression is that men do not react in the same way as women do when depressed. Women, when depressed, tend to feel hopeless, worthless and tender. Men on the other hand tend to feel irritated; they work excessively and usually behave aggressively.

Aggressive behavior is one of the most common signs of depression in men. A very small percentage of depressed men will cry however, a big percentage of them will break something in the house, hit doors or hurt some member of the family. Aggression toward another person is never a solution to any problem; it only causes more problems and suffering.

Unfortunately men’s aggression is almost never taken as a sign of male depression. Instead male aggression is understood as men’s way of expressing themselves and as men’s reaction to stress. This is why you must know the difference between tolerable and intolerable aggressive behavior.

Even though sometimes is good to let the frustration out by punching the wall, it is never good to hurt another individual, verbally or physically. When under major stress women usually scream and men punch the door; this is tolerable provided it is not happening in front of the children. However, any type of aggressive behavior toward some person is intolerable and needs to be addressed in an appropriate way.

The third thing you need to know about men and depression is the truth about alcohol abuse and relationship between alcoholism and depression. Men that have alcohol problems are very likely to be depressed. The problem is that alcohol is accepted in our society and associated with men.

Men, alcohol and game watching are almost inseparable in our western society. Beer is advertised everywhere because it is sad to be food and not alcohol to drink.

This is how our children are educated and brought up by our society. Our message to them is: “Children when you turn 18 or 21 it is normal and okay for you to drink alcohol”.

The truth about alcohol, men and depression needs to be known. Men that consume alcohol are more vulnerable to depression than those that do not consume alcohol. Also, the more they drink alcohol the more vulnerable to depression they get. Self-medicating with alcohol didn’t heal anyone it only made man less of a man.

A man that physically or mentally hurts his wife, children or girlfriend needs to feel responsible and get professional help. Alcohol never helped anyone with depression; it only made things worse because alcohol is a depressant.

There are many other signs of depression in men, aside from aggressive behavior and alcohol abuse and they are discussed in detail on this site. Here you can also find out more about alcoholism and men, male depression and suicide, postpartum male depression, symptoms of male depression, causes of male depression, treatment for male depression and many other related topics.

Hopefully after reading this introductory article about men and depression you have learned that men do get depressed. However they react differently than women and their depressive behavior is in part accepted as normal male behavior which makes the process of recognizing male depression more difficult than recognizing female depression.

Go from Men and Depression to Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Home

Treatment for Male Depression / Symptoms of Male Depression / Signs of Depression in Men / Postpartum Depression in Men / Men Alcohol and Depression / Male Depression and Suicide Risk Factors / Male Depression and Suicide / Causes of Male Depression / Male Depression / Depression in Men