10 Signs of depression in men

Depression is a quite widespread disorder that affects both men and women though men may have additional or slightly different symptoms than women. Each year, doctors prescribe more and more antidepressants which indicates that in today’s hectic world people can easier fall into depression than, for example, even a decade ago. In this article, we collected some common but not obvious signs of depression in men. If you have at least several signs from our list on a regular basis, you should consider going to a doctor and taking antidepressants.

1. Rage or hostility. Usually, when depressed, women are more prone to be melancholic and sad while men can, on the contrary, get easily mad and even hostile. It can be explained by the internal need to feel masculine and show power even when deep inside a man feels helpless and apathetic.

2. Difficulty concentrating. Depression can interfere with normal working process greatly reducing concentration and focus. A depressed man can find himself stuck even at simple tasks for hours being constantly distracted by unpleasant thoughts, fears, and worries.

3. Anxiety. Anxiety is similar to the symptom described above but can manifest not only when you are working but also when you are involved in previously enjoyable activities. Anxiety comes hand in hand with depression, worries, irrational fears, over thinking of even small events and insignificant words, and so on. It can even result in panic attacks that eventually only worsen the situation and create a vicious cycle.

4. Substance abuse. Though men are quite hesitant to go to a psychologist and seek medical assistance when they are stressed or depressed they usually substitute antidepressant medications that can indeed help with such unhealthy substances as alcohol and illegal drugs. You need to take into account that such substances can only worsen the condition through withdrawal syndrome or addiction development which is very hard to beat.

5. Irritability. Irritability is similar to rage and hostility but can be addressed not only on surrounding people but also inanimate objects. For example, if previously when you spilled your coffee on a table you wouldn’t pay much attention but now feel a flush or anger and irritation, it can be a sign that you need to check yourself for depression.

6. Increased fatigue. Normally, any individual can feel tired during the day when having insufficient night sleep or a stressful day at work. But if you feel that you are exhausted even during the weekend when you rest all day, you should pay attention to this symptom. Also, you can notice the change in your feelings during a working day and compare at what hour you started to feel tired before and now.

7. Erectile dysfunction. Another sign of depression can be less obvious as it is related to sexual life. Men quite reluctantly talk about their problems with erection with other people even doctors while erectile dysfunction or inability to achieve and maintain a rigid erection can be a consequence of untreated depression.

8. Suicidal thoughts. This sign is very dangerous as statistically men’s suicide attempts are more likely to end with a fatality. If you ever had thoughts about how nice it would be not wake up in the morning at all or thought about methods of suicide, you must definitely and immediately consult a specialist.

9. Digestion problems. When we have heartburn, abdominal cramps, diarrhea or constipation, we commonly think that we may have problems with the digestive tract. In fact, such symptoms are not uncommon for depression. It is proven that the way you digest food is strongly correlated with your mental condition.

10. Increased sleepiness or insomnia. Surprisingly, these two symptoms can go hand in hand. For example, some men find it hard to fall asleep at night yet they feel like they would collapse in the morning because of sleepiness. It may be caused either by insufficient night sleep or a developed depression.