Men and Mental Illness
 
Greetings!

 

Men tend to assume full responsibility for their grief and suppress emotions that they think can be taken as a sign of weakness. Studies show that this suppression can increase the time it takes to grieve and lead to complications such as escalating anger, aggressiveness and substance abuse. 

 

To combat their feelings, men often become involved in risk-taking and addictive behaviors. These coping strategies, while superficially "effective" at first, do not keep depression at bay for long and often the result is suicide.

 

 

Depression in men can have devastating consequences. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that men in the United States, are about four times more likely to commit suicide than women. Men are also more likely to use methods that are more lethal (such as guns), act faster on suicidal thoughts and show fewer warning signs (such as talk of suicide).

 

Often, many men feel that their depression symptoms are not severe and treatment is unnecessary and they deny their feelings. They think that they should be able to get over it and work through it. These are unsafe and unhealthy coping techniques.

Co-occurring substance dependence

 

Men often self-medicate their emotions with substances, which complicates the picture for men who are depressed. Alcohol and drugs do change the way a person feels-initially-but typically makes things harder over time. Getting help is also more difficult in this setting-many mental health providers are not well versed in addiction-and addiction specialists are not always savvy to mental health concerns. 

 

The cultures of these two fields are very different and this can be confusing. Both conditions need to be treated at the same time for most people.

 

What are some barriers to treatment for men?

 

Male depression may not be as widely recognized as female depression therefore it may go under-diagnosed. There are several reasons for this. For example, men deny having a problem because they are supposed to be "strong." American culture suggests expressing your emotions is a feminine trait and that men who talk about their depression express the physical as opposed to their emotional symptoms.

 

Understanding how men in our society are brought up to behave is important to identifying and treating depression among the male population. Taught to exhibit "tough guy" behavior, men rein in emotions and deal with symptoms in a "macho" way because depression is a threat to masculinity. Often, men are also afraid of the negative social prejudice such a diagnosis might have on their career or their respect from family and friends.


  

It takes effort to practice healthy techniques, but treatment with a doctor and supportive services from Community Friendship, Inc. can help you learn healthy coping skills such as:

  • Goals: set realistic goals and prioritize tasks.
  • Support: seek out emotional support from a spouse, partner, 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, sports and recreation.
  • Decisions: delay making important decisions such as changing jobs until your depression symptoms improve.
Learn more about supportive services for men with mental illnesses. Support mental health recovery. Get involved and stay connected. Donate, volunteer and become an advocate. Visit www.communityfriendship.org or call 404 875-0381.
 

Next article: Women and Mental Illness on 8/26/14

 

Community Friendship, Inc. / 85 Renaissance Parkway / Atlanta, Georgia 30308
 (404) 875-0381