Depression Causes Depression In Men
February 1, 2009 / 2:33 pm • By Dr. Melissa ClouthierFrom the New York Times:
Mr. Steuer, 43, was recently laid off from his job at a small research business. “It’s hard not to imagine yourself as the breadwinner,” he said. “A lot of your ego eggs are in the job basket. I can’t shake the psychology that I’m supposed to provide.”
And this:
Terrence Real, a family therapist and the founder of Real Relational Solutions in Arlington, Mass., said the difference in reactions could be explained by the idea of performance esteem.
“Everyone who has written about male psychology has acknowledged that men base their sense of self on the maxim that ‘I have worth because of what I do,’ ” Mr. Real said. The feeling is that “you are only as good as your last game or your last job,” he said.
In his practice over the past 12 months, Mr. Real says, he has seen a roughly 20 percent uptick in the number of men seeking help because of the economic downturn.
Dr. Richard A. Friedman, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, says he has seen a sharp increase in distress among male patients who were already in treatment before to the economic crisis. In addition, he said he had evaluated 20 to 25 new male patients whose chief complaint was anxiety and depression because of the crisis.
“Considering that women tend to seek psychiatric help more often that men, what I’m seeing is striking,” he said.
The solution is simple: Get the men back to work. There’s more than one reason the Great Depression. How do you get them back to work? They either find a job or create a new business.
I’m a little concerned about all these infrastructure jobs. That will help some. But the biggest losers in our modern economy will be white collar workers. They are unlikely to pick up a hammer, or to feel good about it if they have to, I think. More depression trying to do work they’re not suited for.
