Key Symptoms of Depression in Men to Look Out For

Our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirit are connected in intricate ways. When you’re feeling tired, it’s much easier for you to miss the cues in a conversation, and it can also be easier for you to snap or make a rash decision. If something affects one part of your life, chances are that the rest of your life and your relationships with other people will also be affected.

Depression is a mood disorder that affects how a person feels, thinks, and acts. It is more than just a sadness connected to circumstances that you can simply overcome with enough “fake it till you make it” energy.

Every day, there are millions of American men and women of every age, culture, and ethnicity who are affected by depression, not to mention their family and friends who are walking alongside them. While women are twice as likely as men to have depression, that still leaves a significant number of men vulnerable to it.

Depression in men

Male depression is a serious mental health condition, but many men either try to ignore it or don’t pursue treatment when it could make a significant difference. This may be one reason the statistics skew toward women. More than six million men struggle in silence with depression every year. Men struggling with depression are often not diagnosed for several reasons, and these include:

Resistance toward mental health treatment. A man might suspect he has depression but resist treatment or even refuse to receive a diagnosis. Some men are socialized to not share their problems or seek help from others.

A man might also worry that being treated for depression may carry a social stigma or may make them lose respect among their colleagues or family. Many of these beliefs are ever greater for men in the military, those in higher management positions, or men who believe there are many people counting on them or needing them to accomplish a skilled task.

Inability to recognize depression. If you’re feeling persistently sad, tired, or irritable, you may assume it’s your circumstances and not something deeper. Additionally, because depression doesn’t always have the same symptoms, you may mistake the problem and not think to investigate further.

Downplaying the signs and symptoms. At times, people shrug things off because they don’t want to admit there’s a problem. Admitting there’s a problem is opening a door they’d rather not acknowledge even exists.

Doing this, however, only leads to either downplaying, suppressing, or hiding your symptoms from the people around you, which only makes things worse. These patterns also speak to other ineffective relationship patterns of avoidance, which is more common in men.

Being reluctant or unable to talk about depression symptoms. A person may be reluctant or struggle to articulate their emotions easily. If self-control and keeping your problems to yourself so that you aren’t a burden is something that you’ve been taught, then taking that step to tell your family, friends, or a medical professional about what’s happening in your life may not be easy.

Being depressed is not a sign of weakness, or of an inability to handle your problems. We are finite beings living in a broken world, and that means sometimes our bodies, minds, and emotions don’t always do what we want. Instead of burying or avoiding the issues, it’s better to address depression head-on and seek a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Symptoms of depression in men

In dealing with depression it is helpful to know what it looks like. Seeing some of these key symptoms will alert you that there’s something amiss that likely requires the advice of a medical professional.

Some of the signs of depression may surprise you, and others can easily be dismissed as something else entirely. Instead of dismissing them, you should err on the side of caution and seek help sooner rather than later in order to healthily avoid an even greater potential crisis.

Many symptoms of depression are common in both men and women, and others are more prominent or prevalent among men. For instance, some of the symptoms that men and women have in common include:

• Feeling fatigued.
• Feeling restless and agitated.
• Feeling sad, hopeless, or empty.
• Feelings of anxiety or dread.
• Sleep changes, such as having difficulty falling asleep or sleeping too much.
• Not getting pleasure from activities that were always enjoyable.
• Having difficulty concentrating, or struggling to remember things.
• Eating too much or too little.
• Struggling to fulfill family, work, or other obligations.
• Unintentional weight changes.
• Experiencing aches, pains, and digestive problems.
• Being indecisive.
• Having suicidal thoughts or making suicide attempts.

Other signs feature more prominently among men because men use different means to cope with depression. These means may be a mix of healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms, and they can often serve to mask the symptoms of depression rather than address it. Some of these other coping or masking behaviors in men that could be signs of depression but often go unrecognized as such include the following:

• Isolation from loved ones and avoiding social contact with others.
• Escapist behavior such as spending more time at work or on sports.
• Controlling, violent, or abusive behavior toward loved ones.
• Problems with alcohol, drug use, pornography, or compulsive behaviors like gambling.
• Irritability or inappropriate anger, being hypersensitive, losing one’s sense of humor, getting angry quickly over small matters.
• Risky behavior, such as reckless driving, sex with strangers, or self-medicating.
• Sexual dysfunction.

These behaviors might overlap with or could be signs of other mental health issues, or they may be associated with some other medical conditions or disorders. They may also be the result of drug interactions if you’re on medication. Due to this, it’s important to seek professional help to receive an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

A key issue when it comes to depression is suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. While women are more likely to attempt to commit suicide, men are four times as likely to complete suicide because they tend to use more lethal means in their attempts.

If you or a loved one are feeling suicidal, but there aren’t immediate thoughts of self-harm, it’s important to seek help. You can call a suicide crisis center hotline or speak to a trusted friend or spiritual advisor.

How to cope with depression

If you see a doctor and are diagnosed with depression, there are several ways to cope that don’t involve medication or other invasive interventions. Part of the treatment for depression may be participating in talk therapy, and your counselor can help you by teaching you some of these healthy coping skills. Some of these skills include the following.

Self-care. This includes eating and sleeping well, exercising, and practicing mindfulness, as well as avoiding alcohol or other substances. Doing this will improve your overall balance and sense of well-being.

Have support. Like most things in life, dealing with an illness is something best done with the help of others. God does not intend for us to live life by ourselves, and having a strong support network helps us overcome isolation. Being able to share your struggles makes them less overwhelming.

Keep things simple. Instead of making huge decisions like changing jobs or moving to a new house when you’re feeling depressed, defer them. If you have a clear structure and daily routine you can stick to, that allows you to function without having to put too much thought into it.

If you simplify or break down your tasks into smaller pieces, that can make you effective. Being able to set realistic goals and prioritize tasks makes a huge difference. Every piece completed is something overcome and a victory.

These coping mechanisms are helpful, but they are not a substitute for the help that a counselor or other licensed medical professional can offer. They can supplement the treatment plan that your counselor develops to meet your needs.

Treatment to help overcome depression

Your counselor will likely recommend a treatment plan that includes talk therapy and may include a medication, short or long-term, to help you address the symptoms of depression. Talk therapy can help a person accomplish several goals, including:

• Identifying and replacing negative beliefs with healthy thought patterns and beliefs.
• Learning to cope with a crisis.
• Learning to set and meet realistic goals.
• Exploring one’s relationships and experiences to build positive connections with others.
• Finding adaptive and creative ways to solve problems and overcome obstacles.
• Learning to discern the issues that contribute to depression.
• Developing emotional resilience and a deeper capacity to tolerate stress and distressing situations.

Medication also has its place in the process of recovering from depression. Antidepressants can help one’s mind and body by restoring a neurochemical balance so that one can cope with everyday life. You will need to engage with your doctor so that you minimize the side effects of the medication and arrive at a dosage that works best for you.

It is also important to continue taking the medication as directed, and not to let up when the symptoms alleviate. One role that a support network plays in a person’s life is to keep them accountable for taking their medication.

Conclusion

Your health matters. Being healthy is not just about your physical well-being, but your emotional and mental wellness too. Being the best version of yourself means addressing problems when they come up so that you can be present for those who love you. If you see any symptoms of depression, don’t brush them off, but take them seriously and talk to someone about them.

Reach out to a Christian counselor today to address any concerns you may have about depression. Your counselor will help you understand depression better and begin your journey toward holistic wellness.

I pray you find the resolution you need, and if you are the individual providing support, that God gives you the words that speak to the heart of the matter to the suffering individual in your life.

We are here to support you in the ways you need. It’s our calling in life.

Blessings.