Deborah Gray, one of the first on the web providing depression help back in 1995 when she founded Wing of Madness. While not a mental health "professional," her years of firsthand experience has make her an "expert" contributor to MyDepressionConnection (part of Health Central).
Her May 29, 2007, Journal Entry (blog post) addresses Men and Depression which confirms many of the items discussed here previously.
Newsweek’s cover article is entitled Men and Depression appeared in my mailbox today. It’s a funny thing, I typically do not subscribe to Newsweek but received on of those free convert your expiring airline miles a few months ago and had forgotten I had picked Newsweek until it started showing up about three weeks ago. Sometimes there is a lot to be said for timing. I actually became aware of the article last night and read it through once on-line but wanted to see the printed copy before making any comments. It is amazing how fast thing move in today’s world. I like the article and found much of the information to be consistent with my findings during the last few months. One interesting tidbit is that my printed copy of Newsweek does not have a single advertisement for depression medications, which takes away from some of the conspiracy theories mentioned in the on-line comment section.
Interestingly enough, if I had taken the “simple screening test for doctors to use: Over the last two weeks, have you been bothered by either of the following problems: (a) little interest or pleasure in doing things? Or (b) feeling down, depressed or hopeless?” over a year ago I would have answered “no” to both questions. Now looking back now with 20/20 hindsight (okay maybe not yet 20/20 but definitely less blurred vision) I probably could have answered “yes” to both but to me these two questions are still more appropriate for women then men.
When I first visited my employer’s EAP to try to figure out why I had uncontrollable shaking in my arms. For some reason I realized that it was not just a physical problem and the umpteenth letter of introduction from the EAP company was safely tucked away on a corner of my desk (it turned out to be a year old…so maybe I did not come to my realization as quickly as I should have). Eventually I stumbled into the section of the EAP website that talked about depression and I was surprised when many other symptoms that I would never have suspected were related to depression I had been suffering with for over a year. I took their on-line depression test which gave me a definite “maybe” result but I had not realized at the time that my reasoning ability was skewed.
It took all of the nerve I had to call the help line and discuss the situation with the doctor. Luckily for me I was quickly put in contact with one of head doctor’s who agreed that is sounded like I definitely was a “maybe” for depression but the only accurate method was to visit a psychologist for a complete “by the book” screening. All that they ask was that I commit to making the first appointment and that I agree to give serious consideration to has advice. I agreed and within an hour our two I had an appointment to meet my therapist the next day (a Friday).
At that time I thought telling my wife that I may be depressed was going to be even more difficult than talking to the doctor 3,000 miles away by phone. As it turned out this was much easier than I had anticipated, my wife was very supportive and had known there was something wrong with me for some time. She was very supportive but we both agreed to keep quiet about the situation.
While the results of my “by the book” evaluation was a little more definitive than “maybe,” I was considered to have more of a moderate level of depression, so while I knew something was wrong, I’m not sure I bought into the diagnosis completely. In all honestly, I think there was a small part of me that continued to hold some of the historic views about men and depression being a made up problem. That is until recently when I have turned the corner and can see how screwed up my thinking really was. More on that later.
Back to the article. I applaud Newsweek for bringing front page attention to the problems men have in determining, getting help, and continued social stigma around being depressed. As I have told many people, I know that I never felt sad, unhappy, blue, or any of the other terms typically associated with depression (particularly in women) and I doubt many other men have either. Or, at least we would not use those words to describe how we feel or “don’t feel.”
I will probably have some thoughts another time about the interesting on-line comments provided about the article. It is apparent that many people still struggle believing depression is a medical issue and some of the stereotypes continue.
In Turkey they think suicide rate is increasing because of a migration from the rural to cities as reported in the Today’s Zaman article, which is different that the belief held by the Australian government in their concern about suicide among the rural men, as noted in the “beyondblue” September 2006 advertising campaign.
Familydoctor.org has a short article covering dysthymic disorder, which touches on the whats and hows of the disorder.
Overall, dysthymia is considered a "less severe but more chronic" depression as discussed in Psychology Today's Diagnosis Dictionary. Along with the definition of dysthymia is this article from the Jul/Aug 2003 issue of Psychology Today discussing when depression is considered to be "cured"
beyondblue Fact Sheet 1 provides information to family and friends about how to best help their loved one deal with depression.
beyondblue Fact Sheet 12 is a great four page overview of the subject and is convenient to use when talking to others about your depression.
The March 2002 edition of Psychology Today Magazine has a good short article, "Action Strategies: Family and Depression" by Ellen McGrath about the devastating effects depression can have on a family because it can become infections, spreading from one family member to another similarly to a cold or flu.
Reader's Digest January 2007 edition has an article "The Secret Men Won't Admit" which highlights the differences between how the sexes experience depression (e.g., under reporting, misdiagnosed, or men not seeking help).
The January 15, 2007, issue of Newsweek has an article Is Male Menopause Real? from two two Harvard Medical School faculty doctors, which focused on the levels of testosterone among men as they age and the problems associated with using this indicator and/or effectiveness of supplement treatment.
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