Signs & Symptoms
A broken leg is an obvious problem. Someone has a skiing accident, or a hard slide into third base. The sound of the bone cracking is followed by a howl of pain. At the hospital, the doctor takes an X-ray and says, “Yup, it’s broken all right.” The doctor sets the bone and puts the leg in a cast. Friends and family, seeing the person hobbling around on crutches, immediately recognize and understand the problem. “Oh, it’s a broken leg. Good thing he got that fixed.”
Depression is different. Unlike a fractured bone, it isn’t easy to diagnose, treat or understand. To friends and family, you may appear to be your normal self. But inside you feel as broken as that leg bone.
Currently, there are no X-rays or blood tests for depression. But you can identify depression, in yourself or someone you know, using these signs and symptoms of depression in men:
- Depressed mood most of the day
- Markedly diminished interest and pleasure in all/almost all activities
- Significant weight loss or gain
- Sleep difficulties (trouble falling asleep/staying asleep, or sleeping too much)
- Agitation & restlessness
- Fatigue or low energy nearly every day
- Feelings of worthlessness; excessive or inappropriate guilt
- Diminished ability to think and concentrate; indecisiveness
- Recurrent thoughts of death and/or suicide
If you have experienced 5 or more of these symptoms for two weeks or longer, you may be suffering from depression. The first two symptoms are particularly strong indicators of depression, and ones that mental health and medical professionals look for when diagnosing the condition.
More specifically, men with depression may:
- Experience unexplained physical aches and pains
- Feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and pessimism about the future
- See themselves as a burden to others
- Feel worthless, weak and useless
- Feel intense loneliness and abandonment even when he is being supported by loved ones
- Isolate themselves from family and friends
- Act out in angry and hostile ways
- See suicide as the only way out
The way out is by facing the depression and getting the help you need.
Next: Discussing Depression