James Donaldson on Mental Health - 6 Things Men Need to Know About Mental Health

Depression often looks different in men.

Men are diagnosed with depression at around half the rate that women are.

But this is partly because depressed men often show slightly different symptoms, said Derek Griffith, a medical ethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

“It’s not 100 percent clear that the way that we’re diagnosing men is accurately identifying the men who are in need,” he said.

Studies show that while both women and men with depression express symptoms like lethargy or loss of interest in activities, men are more likely to express risk-taking ; feelings of anger and irritability ; or even physical symptoms like headaches or stomach problems.

This is often called masked or male-type depression , said Daniel Singley, a psychologist at the Center for Men’s Excellence in San Diego.

When these male-type symptoms of depression are taken into account, Dr.

Griffith said, the differences in diagnosis rates between men and women disappear.

Many men may not even recognize that they are depressed.

Feeling irritable and angry every now and then might be signs of everyday stress, but if you feel these emotions all the time, or loved ones have noticed them, ask yourself whether they might be symptoms of depression, Dr.