Men are secretly suffering from depression

Men's Health Report: High number of unreported cases in men with mental disorders

25/04/2013

First place of mental illness in men is depression. But also addictions and fears are among the most common mental health problems. According to the Men's Health Foundation, the proportion of mental disorders as the cause of incapacity for work has almost doubled since the year 2000. Accordingly, nine percent of men suffer from diagnosed depression. However, the dark figure is likely to be much higher. For the rapid development of the suicide rate in men speak, the experts said. Prominent example is the former Bundesliga referee Babak Rafati, who cut his wrists in his hotel room in November 2011 immediately before a game. He was terrified of making a mistake, according to Rafati. The 43-year-old survived the suicide attempt, fought back with therapeutic support back to life and wrote a book about the most desperate hours of his life.

Mental problems of men are often taboo
The Men's Health Report was first presented in late 2010. Even then, the authors came to the conclusion that male-specific symptoms of mental disorders have been poorly researched and often misinterpreted in practice. Reason enough for another study focusing on the mental health of men.

Men and women often show different symptoms. „Women complain of despondency or listlessness, in men, the disease is often expressed by increased aggressiveness or hyperactivity, but also in alcohol abuse or compulsive sexual desire“, Prof. Anne Maria Möller-Leimkühler from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of LMU Munich and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Foundation for Men's Health e.V., presented the study „Men's Health Report 2013“ together with a team on Wednesday evening at a press conference. The foundation received support from the German health insurance DKV during the investigation.

Number one mental disorders in men are depressions
As shown by the 2013 Men's Health Report, depression rates among the mental disorders of men in first place. Addictions and anxiety are common in men. Nine percent of German men (3.6 million) suffer from diagnosed depression. But the experts agree that the number of unreported cases is much higher. This is mainly due to the rapidly increasing suicide rate among men, according to a press release from the Men's Health Foundation. Causes of „Under-treatment of mental disorders in men is lack of help seeking, masculinity ideologies, fear of stigmatization, misdiagnosis towards somatic diseases, ignorance of gender-typical symptom profiles (for example, in depression), and health services that target women's needs and therefore do not reach men“, explained Möller-Leimkühler in a statement.

„Social attention for the mental health of men arises only in case of massive abnormalities, ie loss of productivity in the work area and the associated follow-up costs.“ Therefore, depression in men was often undetected, the expert said. „When men are in dire straits, they are often told to just pull them together, then it would be okay“, reported Matthias Stiehler, co-publisher of the study and psychological consultant at the Dresden Health Department.

There is a need for action, inter alia, in the improvement of male health behavior and depression diagnosis and therapy, de-stigmatization of depressive men, reduction of chronic stressors in the workplace, prevention of violent behavior and the expansion of research with a focus on men's health and mental health of men, said Möller-Leimkühler.

More and more prominent men are making their depression public
The fact that depression is omnipresent is also shown by the example of former Bundesliga referee Babak Rafati, who participated in the press conference as a prominent representative. Rafati had cut his wrists in November 2011 shortly before a game. He had suffered from sleep disturbances, sweats and panic attacks for fear of making a mistake. The suicide attempt by the former referee had caused great consternation. More and more often confess as well „tough guys“ current athletes to depression. What used to be regarded as an absolute taboo, especially in football, has become more and more public since the tragic suicide of football goalkeeper Robert Enke in 2009.

Rafati reports his most desperate hours in a recent book. „I lost the joy of life.“ But with the help of psychotherapy, the 43-year-old fought back to life. At that time he had not come up with the idea that his suffering „a sign of depression“. (Ag)