How Depression Affects Men

It is a generally accepted statistic is that women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men. I don’t think this is correct. I think that the signs and symptoms of depression in men are very different than those of women.

In spite of great sadness and pessimism men tend not to communicate their distress. They go with alone as they do in so many areas of their lives and they turn to self medications. Sometimes with excessive TV, excessive sexual activity or excessive drinking as symptoms of their distress, there is no question that depression can be fatal in both sexes including obviously in men. People lose their appetite. They can’t sleep. They don’t take action against threats in the environment. And I don’t think that there is no question that depression which by the way also depresses the action of the immune system.

And makes people prone to infection it is a very serious warning that a fatal outcome is a possibility. So depression should never be underestimated. A very interesting thing about depression was commented on in fact by my father who was a physician years ago. When he said the time to be most on guard against suicide is in a partially treated depressed patient. He pointed out that when they were profoundly depressed they can take action even to end their own lives. But as they improve they begin to see ways to carry out their very sad objectives and I think that is reflected in the warnings that some of our antidepressants when we start to give them. Result in a suicide of patients unexpectedly and I think it maybe due to this general principle that the depressed patient in treatment has to be very carefully watched because there is this time of special vulnerability.