Depression in men is a growing cause of concern in the United States. While men tend to be less likely to get diagnosed with depression than women, the past several years have seen a dramatic increase in depression rates in men. Men may also be at much higher risk of completing suicide if they don’t find effective treatment.

Thankfully, there are several effective treatment methods to help men break free from their depressive symptoms and live healthier, happier, and more productive lives in recovery.

Understanding Depression in Men

Major depressive disorder is a serious and debilitating mental health condition that can lead to substantial disruption in everyday life if left untreated. Importantly, the signs and symptoms of depression in men can often go unnoticed, and men are generally less likely to seek mental health treatment even if they experience debilitating symptoms.

Learning to recognize the prevalence of depression in men and understanding the symptoms of depressive disorders is the first step toward helping men achieve recovery.

Prevalence of Depression Among Men

Large-scale surveys of the American population’s mental health challenges have consistently shown that women are more likely to experience depression than men. However, recent years have shown substantial increases in the percentage of men experiencing a depressive episode each year.

For example, a study that tracked the rates of depression in men over the course of five years found that in 2015, 4.7% of the adult male population had experienced depression in the last year. By 2020 — in just a five-year period — that number increased to 6.4%.

Symptoms of Depressive Disorders

Depression is not a monolith; there are several different types of depressive disorders that people may experience. Some of the most common depressive disorders include:

  • Major depressive disorder (MDD)
  • Persistent depressive disorder
  • Seasonal depression
  • Bipolar disorder

In general, when people refer to “depression” or “clinical depression,” they are referring to MDD.

While each type of disorder has a unique set of causes and symptoms, there is a common thread of symptoms that ties this group of mental health conditions together. The major symptoms of depression include:

  • Feeling empty, hopeless, or sad
  • Unintentional weight changes, including significant weight gain or weight loss
  • Loss of interest in hobbies, activities, or sex
  • Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
  • Trouble concentrating or making decisions
  • Irritability or angry outbursts
  • Sleep difficulties, including both sleeping too much or too little
  • Chronic fatigue and lack of energy
  • Thoughts of death or suicide
  • Physical symptoms such as aches and pains or headaches

People with depression will feel these symptoms almost every day for periods lasting at least two weeks, but potentially much longer. These symptoms will frequently lead to challenges at work, an inability to keep up with daily responsibilities, and damage to close personal relationships if left untreated.

Why Depression in Men Can Go Unnoticed

One of the most common challenges for men experiencing depression is that the people around them, even those they are extremely close to, may not recognize that they are living with depression. Depression is often referred to as an invisible illness, and this can be particularly true for men.

At least in the United States, cultural expectations of men and masculinity can stop men from expressing what they’re experiencing to others. These norms and ideals can include the expectation that men:

  • Don’t talk about their feelings
  • Bear the burden of their symptoms alone
  • Fix their problems without help
  • Stay strong and resilient no matter the circumstance
  • Provide for their loved ones no matter what

While these expectations may serve men in some areas, in terms of overcoming a mental health challenge, they can quickly become substantial barriers to getting effective mental health treatment and feeling better.

These norms explain why men are much less likely to seek treatment, even though effective depression treatments are available. They also contribute to why men are less frequently diagnosed with depression and may not even realize they are experiencing depression themselves.

Causes of Depression in Men

There is no single, unilateral cause of depression in men. Instead, a constellation of factors can all contribute to your individual risk for depression.

While one experience may push certain people over the threshold to receive a diagnosis of depression, understanding the true cause of depression among men generally requires a close look at the wide number of potentially associated factors.

Genetic Factors

Perhaps the most significant risk factor for depression is an individual’s genetics. Researchers estimate the heritability of depressive disorders to be somewhere around 50%, which means that you have a much higher risk of developing depression if your parents had a diagnosis of depression, or if depression runs in your family.

A 50% heritability means that researchers believe about half of your risk for depression comes from genetic factors, with the other half coming from external or environmental factors. Importantly, these findings are based on a population level; it does not necessarily mean that you have a 50% chance of having depression if your parents did.

Environmental Factors

Environmental factors make up the remaining 50% of the risk for depression. Environmental factors are a broad category that includes everything in your life besides your genetic makeup.

This could include such experiences as:

  • Exercise or physical activity level
  • Stressful life events
  • Nutrition
  • Sleep
  • Exposure to toxic chemicals
  • The culture you were raised in
  • Your socioeconomic status

All of these play a contributing role in whether a person develops a depressive disorder, but some factors make more of a difference than others. Some of the most notable environmental factors that can cause depression include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), chronic illness, substance use disorders, and social factors.

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences are challenging or traumatic experiences that people experience while growing up. This could include living through situations such as:

  • Community violence
  • Physical abuse
  • Neglect
  • Parental divorce or separation
  • Witnessing domestic violence

ACEs have been repeatedly linked to developing mental health problems later in life, including depression. Further, ACEs may contribute to physical illness, including chronic illness.

Chronic Illness

Living with a chronic illness such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes can place an incredible amount of stress on men. This stress can contribute to feelings of depression and may get in the way of taking protective actions to improve your mental health.

Substance Use Disorders

Substance use disorders are much more common in men and may lead to the development of depression as well. A substance use disorder is characterized by continued substance use despite consequences, including a worsened quality of mental health due to substance misuse.

When people develop a mental health disorder because of substance use, it’s often referred to as substance-induced depression.

Social Factors

Healthy socialization is an important part of your overall mental health. Yet, in recent years, more men are reporting feelings of loneliness, having fewer close friends, and keeping less meaningful relationships.

Any one of these factors can increase your risk of developing depression. Additionally, specific relationships can be a factor. For instance, going through a breakup may trigger a depressive episode that can be difficult to break free from.

Effective Treatments for Depression in Men

Leaving depression untreated can be debilitating and often lead to catastrophic consequences in your daily life. Fortunately, there are effective treatment options available to help with depression, including both traditional depression treatments and exciting, novel treatment options that can help even if you’ve not had success with depression treatment before.

Individual Therapy

Therapy is the most time-tested approach to helping people overcome depression. Working with an individual therapist can help you dive into your specific causes for depression, learn healthier ways of coping with depressive symptoms, and find the path to achieving a better state of overall mental health.

There are a number of different therapeutic modalities that are evidence-based to treat depression, offered in both in-person and virtual options. This includes modalities such as:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Dialectical behavior therapy
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing

These styles of therapy have decades of scientific support in helping people resolve their symptoms of depression and get back to living healthier and more productive lives.

Medication Management

Psychiatric medication management is another popular approach to treating depressive disorders. There are several antidepressant medications, but finding which one works for you typically requires the help of a trained mental health provider.

With medication management, you work directly with your provider to find out which medication fits best with your needs. Your provider can track your progress during treatment and make any adjustments as needed.

This includes changing your medication if it doesn’t work as you’d hoped, altering the dosage when necessary, and providing supplemental medications to help overcome any side effects you may experience.

Ketamine-Assisted Healing

Ketamine-assisted healing is a newer style of depression treatment that has quickly shown promising results. Ketamine-assisted healing uses the medication ketamine to help accelerate the therapeutic process.

Ketamine-assisted healing is a relatively simple process. After meeting with your treatment team to discuss your challenges and any questions you may have, treatment begins by taking the dissociative psychedelic ketamine. During this experience, you will sit with a therapist who will guide you through a brief therapy session.

Ketamine can help people disconnect from the experience of depression, look at their problems objectively, and find rapid and lasting relief from their symptoms. Ketamine-assisted healing can help people who have tried other depression treatments before without success and is a valuable new tool in mental health treatment.

Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) is another new and exciting treatment option for men with depression. This tool uses specialized technology to send brief electrical impulses deep within the brain, specifically targeting regions that are most associated with depressive symptoms.

Additionally, dTMS is completely non-invasive. Starting treatment is as simple as placing a cap and helmet on your head, which creates a small electric impulse within the brain using advanced magnetic technologies.

This treatment is an evidence-based approach for helping people overcome depression, as well as several other common mental health challenges. While most people feel the effects of dTMS after just a single session, it typically takes several sessions for clients to feel lasting and durable improvements in their mental health.

Find Your Path to Recovery at Plus by APN Today

At Plus by APN, our team provides the best depression treatment options for men, including both traditional and innovative options. We know that it can be difficult to take the first steps toward mental health recovery. But with so many different effective treatment options available, you can start the path to feeling better once and for all.

To get started with depression treatment at Plus by APN, call 424.644.6486 or fill out our online contact form.

References

  • Kim, Youngmi et al. “Patterns of adverse childhood experiences and depressive symptoms: self-esteem as a mediating mechanism.” Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology vol. 57,2 (2022): 331-341. doi:10.1007/s00127-021-02129-2
  • “Major Depression and Genetics.” Genetics of Brain Function, med.stanford.edu/depressiongenetics/mddandgenes.html. Accessed 21 July 2024.