Increase physical activity, as exercise can ease symptoms of depression. Set small goals to accomplish tasks that seem overwhelming. Maintain a daily routine by waking up, eating, and going to bed at the same time. Do you feel irritable, isolated, or withdrawn? Do you find yourself working all the time? Do you drink too much? These unhealthy coping strategies may be signs that you have male depression.
Depression can affect men and women differently. When depression occurs in men, it can be masked by unhealthy coping behavior. For a number of reasons, male depression often goes undiagnosed and can have devastating consequences if left untreated. However, male depression usually gets better with treatment.
The signs and symptoms of depression may differ in men and women. Men also tend to use different coping skills, both healthy and unhealthy, than women. It's not clear why men and women may experience depression differently. It likely involves a number of factors, such as brain chemistry, hormones, and life experiences.
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Therefore, it is necessary to identify men's adaptive responses to depression and stress, so that public health programs can be developed and disseminated, especially among men who would otherwise avoid seeking help. First, health professionals, family members and friends who support and treat men at risk of depression should keep in mind that, while certain prevention strategies were significantly associated with a lower risk of depression, the same strategies used for treatment were not significant predictors of fewer symptoms of depression. Second, public health messages could emphasize that men make important distinctions between prevention and management when it comes to their mental health, emphasizing recognizing when it is important to have a “rest”. The current study aims to fill this gap by researching the positive strategies that men use to successfully manage their mental health and well-being and prevent depression.
In this way, current results can help inform education and health campaigns based on social norms, by transmitting simple messages about the positive strategies used by men to prevent and control the feeling of “flattened” or “depressed”. Simply hearing that other men are consciously investing in preventing poor mental health could be a powerful message. Therefore, the results are important in confirming previous findings and are vital for providing new knowledge about an under-researched area, namely, the positive things that men do to prevent and control their mental health.
