MenAlive!: Depression: A Men's Health Issue

MenAlive.com - irritable male syndrome, men's health and male menopause
Live Long and Well

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Men and Depression

A Men's Health Issue

The most common problem associated with male menopause is depression which is closely related to impotence and problems with male sexuality. Approximately 40% of men in their 40s, 50s and 60s will experience some degree of difficulty in attaining and sustaining erections, lethargy, depression, increased irritability, and mood swings that characterize male menopause. The symptoms of depression in men are commonly not recognized for several reasons:

	The symptoms of male depression are different than the classic symptoms we think of as depression
	Men deny they have problems because they are supposed to "be strong"
	Men deny they have a problem with their sexuality and don't understand the relationship with depression
	The symptom cluster of male depression is not well known so family members, physicians, and mental health professionals fail to recognize it.

Male depression is a disease with devastating consequences. To paraphrase from Jed Diamond's book Male Menopause

	80% of all suicides in the US are men
	The male suicide rate at midlife is three times higher; for men over 65, seven times higher
	The history of depression makes the risk of suicide seventy-eight times greater (Sweden)
	20 million American will experience depression sometimes in their lifetime
	60-80% of depressed adults never get professional help
	It can take up to ten years and three health professionals to properly diagnose this disorder
	80-90% of people seeking help get relief from their symptoms

Differences between Male and Female depression:

Men are more likely to act out their inner turmoil while women are more likely to turn their feelings inward. The following chart from Jed Diamond's book Male Menopause illustrates these differences.

Female depression	Male depression
Blame themselves	Feel others are to blame
Feel sad, apathetic, and worthless	Feel angry, irritable, and ego inflated
Feel anxious and scared	Feel suspicious and guarded
Avoids conflicts at all costs	Creates conflicts
Always tries to be nice	Overtly or covertly hostile
Withdraws when feeling hurt	Attacks when feeling hurt
Has trouble with self respect	Demands respect from other
Feels they were born to fail	Feels the world set them up to fail
Slowed down and nervous	Restless and agitated
Chronic procrastinator	Compulsive time keeper
Sleeps too much	Sleeps too little
Trouble setting boundaries	Needs control at all costs
Feels guilty for what they do	Feels ashamed for who they are
Uncomfortable receiving praise	Frustrated if not praised enough
Finds it easy to talk about weaknesses and doubts	Terrified to talk about weaknesses and doubts
Strong fear of success	Strong fear of failure
Needs to "blend in" to feel safe	Needs to be "top dog" to feel safe
Uses food, friends, and "love" to self-medicate	Uses alcohol, TV, sports, and sex to self medicate
Believe their problems could be solved only if they could be a better (spouse, co-worker, parent, friend)	Believe their problems could be solved only if their (spouse, co-worker, parent, friend) would treat them better
Constantly wonder, "Am I loveable enough?"	Constantly wonder, "Am I being loved enough?"

Check out Jed's own story of depression.

Need help now?

I offer two options for help: (1) Personal counseling with me and (2) My new internet-based program.

If you think you may need counseling help, feel free to contact me at Jed@MenAlive.com. (If you're new, be sure and respond to my spamarrest notice so I receive your e-mail.) I offer immediate help in my office or by phone.
Are you a man who is overstressed, frustrated, and angry? Are you a woman who walks on egg shells afraid you will set him off? Is your relationship suffering? This program is for you. To get help CLICK HERE.

Click here to check out Jed's IMS Aliveguide

Mission:
MenAlive seeks to enrich men's relationships with themselves, their families, and their communities.

Vision:
MenAlive focuses on male menopause as a critical bridge to the second half of life. We focus on the Irritable Male Syndrome and men and depression, to prepare men to cross that bridge. We address the hormonal, physical, psychological, interpersonal, sexual, nutritional, economic, social, ecological, and spiritual aspects of men's health and act as an influential source of timely information, resources, products and community centered events on male menopause and men's health, for men and the women who love them.