According to statistics, depression develops less often in men than in women, but its manifestations can be more dangerous. Men in a depressed state often make attempts to commit suicide, and, unfortunately, these attempts are usually realized.
In order to prevent the death of a loved one, a woman needs to be especially attentive to him during difficult periods of life. Why does the disease develop, how to deal with it, and what to do if a man shows signs of a depressive disorder? , a psychiatrist and psychotherapist at the MEDSI clinic on Leninsky Prospekt, spoke about this .
Symptoms of depression in men
Psychiatry does not divide depression into male and female. This condition manifests itself equally in all people, regardless of gender and age. Signs of depressive disorders are formulated by the international classification of diseases. And if you notice one or more of them in a loved one, you should be wary.
It’s worth paying attention if a man has stopped enjoying those things that gave him pleasure before. For example, he happily went fishing, but now he refuses to do it. Or if he is increasingly in a bad, depressed mood, he tries to leave the house as little as possible, and in his free time he prefers not to get out of bed.
In addition to the external signs of depression in a man, there are also internal ones. “Boys don’t cry” - this is how men are raised in modern society. But precisely because of this, all the internal experiences that torment a person and increase melancholy are not brought out. Men are not used to discussing problems with their wives and girlfriends. And with depression, multiple negative thoughts may arise:
- about personal or professional insolvency;
- about the lack of prospects in life;
- feeling of guilt.
Against this background, attention decreases and intellectual functions deteriorate. The person becomes distracted and cannot remember important information or concentrate on important work. There is also a decrease in sexual desire for the spouse, sleep is disturbed, and appetite usually decreases.
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Treatment of male depression at the Leto clinic
The goal of treatment is to relieve or eliminate symptoms, restore work, family and social functioning, and prevent relapse. One of the first tasks is to decide whether treatment will be done on an outpatient basis or in a hospital.
Treatment methods vary: medications, psychotherapy, psychoeducation, self-help methods, electrical stimulation therapy, light therapy, or combinations of individual methods. It is an integrated approach to treating depression that provides the greatest results.
Causes of the disease
These manifestations become a “marker” of processes that occur inside the body. Scientists have not yet figured out the causes of depressive disorders, but they agree that dozens of biologically active substances in the body are involved in them.
Clinical depression in men is not just a bad mood. This is a disease that affects the hormonal and immune systems, but mostly affects the functioning of the brain, as it disrupts the production of neurotransmitters responsible for emotions, reaction speed and performance.
Some external “push” usually leads to the development of depression:
- problems at work;
- dismissal;
- dissatisfaction with personal relationships;
- lack of career growth and financial well-being.
At different ages, the reasons may be different, but the processes occurring in the body of a man at 30 years old with depression do not differ from those at 40 and 50 years old. An external push triggers a cascade of biochemical reactions in the body, and it is not always possible to stop them on your own, without the help of a specialist.
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Medication methods
In some cases, the use of drugs that affect the psychological state will be required. Depending on the clinical picture and individual characteristics of the person, the following may be prescribed:
- Antidepressants are drugs that stimulate the body’s production of “happiness” hormones.
- Normotimics are medications that reduce aggressiveness and normalize the patient’s psychological state.
- Tranquilizers - relieve overexcitation of the nervous system.
Antidepressants have a selective effect. This means that for some people it will cause significant improvement and disappearance of depressive symptoms, for others some symptoms will go away and some will remain, and for a third group of people the drug may not work at all. That is why these drugs should not be taken without a doctor's prescription. During therapy, it may be necessary to adjust the dosage or replace some medications with others.
Treatment takes place in 3 stages:
- The first or acute phase lasts 4-6 weeks and usually results in relief of depressive symptoms. If after this period there is no improvement, a drug of a different pharmacological group (with a different mechanism of action) is introduced into the therapeutic regimen.
- Second phase. Aimed at maintaining a state of remission.
- The third stage of treatment is used in cases where a man experiences frequent episodes of depression and includes the preventive use of antidepressants.
All drugs are prescribed only when it is impossible to do without them.
Test for symptoms of depression in men
Psychiatrists diagnose the disease and determine its severity. It is difficult to make a diagnosis on your own, as well as to develop treatment tactics. Despite the fact that there are enough tests on the Internet for diagnosing depressive conditions and various scales, this method alone is not enough to clarify the diagnosis.
“In psychiatry, a diagnosis is established based on a person’s current mental state, life history and examination using tests,” comments psychiatrist Christina Wirth. “A diagnosis can only be made based on a combination of factors.”
At the appointment, the specialist evaluates the person’s behavior, clarifies the life history, causes and duration of the depressive state, and offers to fill out a test as an additional diagnostic method.
For self-completion, the patient uses the Aaron Beck test, where you need to select answers from groups of statements based on your condition over the past week. Another well-known test for diagnosing depression is the Hamilton Scale; it is completed by a doctor based on a professional assessment of the patient’s condition and behavior. This test is not suitable for self-diagnosis.
Depression scale
If a patient has doubts about the state of his health, and he is sufficiently informed in matters of mental disorders, it will not be difficult during self-diagnosis to determine the presence of a depressive episode.
The 21-item Beck Depression Inventory is used for this purpose. It contains several statements, in each of them you need to select only one option. This phrase should reflect the thoughts and feelings of a person at the current moment as accurately as possible.
You need to answer questions as truthfully as possible and be sincere with yourself. As a result, it is necessary to calculate the total number of points; the lower their number, the lower the likelihood of depression.
If you have alarming results on the Beck scale, you should contact a specialist; you can make an appointment at Dr. Isaev’s Clinic any day. This should be done immediately if you are experiencing panic attacks due to nervous exhaustion.
How can a man get out of depression on his own?
Despite the fact that depression was included in the international classification of diseases quite a long time ago and was recognized by the world medical community as a dangerous disorder, many people, especially in Russia, still do not take it seriously.
They think it will go away on its own, compare it to laziness, or accuse a person suffering from a depressive disorder of being spineless and irresponsible. And this is a huge risk, since without proper help, mental problems will only get worse. And against their background, the accompanying “responses” of the body will develop.
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“Since depression is based on an imbalance of bioactive substances, hormones and even the immune system, it increases the risk of dangerous diseases,” says Christina Wirth. “Against a background of depression, the risk of cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases increases.”
It is important to take into account that you can get out of depression on your own only if it developed against the background of a problematic situation and at some point the problem was resolved. This improves a man’s emotional state and helps him regain his zest for life. If the problem is “prolonged”, depression develops over a long time, and it becomes impossible to get rid of it on your own.
After all, physiological processes are added to the psychological disorder, hormonal imbalance occurs, and the production of neurotransmitters in the brain is disrupted. And to correct the condition, the help of a specialist is needed. Otherwise, improvements may be temporarily observed against the background of the disease, but depression will regularly return and intensify for no apparent reason.
“Self-healing is possible with mild depression,” comments the doctor. — The maximum you can do on your own is to find psychological literature, self-help manuals, read them, try to work with yourself. But there must be a will for this, there must be faith in one’s own strength, and the aid itself must be professional.”
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Postpartum depression
After the pregnancy period has been successfully overcome and a woman gives birth to a child, she may experience a different range of feelings and sensations on the physical level. Postpartum depression is an atypical mental disorder that can be dangerous for the new mother and her environment.
It is important to understand that childbirth represents enormous stress for the psyche and a great test for the body. Psychological assistance is necessary for the patient in case of serious deviations from the norm. This condition occurs during the first 3 months after birth and can be mild or severe.
Among the provoking factors, experts identify:
- excessive physical exertion associated with caring for a newborn;
- the pregnancy was difficult or unwanted;
- inability to breastfeed;
- financial difficulties;
- dysfunction of the nervous system, which began even before birth;
- conflicts with a partner (separation, quarrels, infidelity);
- moral exhaustion of the body;
- unjustified expectations of a young mother;
- lack of help at home from close relatives.
This disorder can be distinguished from others by a number of specific signs. The doctor diagnoses and prescribes medications; self-medication in this case threatens to worsen the condition. Among the symptoms characteristic of women are:
- Regular complaints of excessive fatigue, lack of energy, loneliness. This is accompanied by mood swings, euphoria is often replaced by causeless sadness, and outbursts of anger occur that the woman is unable to control. She often cries, becomes hysterical, and does not respond to attempts to calm her down.
- Panic fear. Usually it concerns the health of the newborn, the mother has fears that he may suddenly die or something will happen to him. A gloomy vision of the future becomes dominant, the imagination draws terrible pictures of events that could happen in a few hours or days. Articles about accidents and illnesses read on the Internet are automatically “tried on” to oneself.
- The feeling of guilt does not leave a woman; even the smallest failure plunges her into a world of fear and self-flagellation.
- Provoking conflict. Often a young mother throws tantrums every day for any reason, she becomes grumpy, and she herself looks for reasons to quarrel with her husband or loved ones. People around them attribute these symptoms to whims and bad character, so they do not respond to them in a timely manner.
Questions and answers
Is it possible to get rid of a bad mood on your own with the help of antidepressants?
We categorically do not recommend prescribing medications yourself. This is done by the doctor based on examination of the patient. Many medications have a number of contraindications, which the patient himself may not be aware of.
How long does it take to treat depression?
This is an individual indicator, it all depends on the form of the disease and its stage.
