Recently the topic of "depression" came up while dining at Duffy's, local bistro and sports bar. A couple of ladies had indicated they were depressed because they were leaving one decade in age and entering a new one; ergo 70s or 80s--a gentleman doesn't get too inquisitive.
Depression is sometimes called the common cold of mental health, but it's unlike the common cold in at least two important respects: It doesn't go away in a week without treatment, and it doesn't affect men and women equally or in the same ways. Although attention is rightly paid mainly to the causes and consequences of women's high rate of depression, the disorder also presents special problems for men. At every age, men have worse health than women and a higher death rate. They also have a higher - often much higher - risk of many psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, alcoholism, drug addiction, and post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). So it is remarkable that the rate of diagnosed depression is much lower in men almost everywhere in the world according to my reading on it. In the United States, about half as many men as women become seriously depressed at some time in their lives. Men suffer less major depression, less chronic mild to moderate depression, and probably less bipolar depression.
The reasons for this difference are not entirely clear. The main risk factors for an episode of depression are the same in both sexes: certain personality traits, drug and alcohol abuse, acute and chronic stress, traumatic experiences including child abuse, a family history of depression, a previous depressive episode, and wartime combat experience. Personally, I have experienced depressive episodes almost all my life. While I was comfy in the womb, I still had four months to go; it was boring; nothing to read; I simply couldn't wait that long. It was so depressing I exited in five months. But once I saw the world (It was the Great Depression!) I got even more depressed; so depressed I wanted to climb back in.
Speaking of depression, that's the way I woke this morning, discovering that I had lost my bet on the Miami Heat--who lost their 13th in a row. The Florida teams are simply awful including the Marlins and the Dolphins. But never give up. Today I have a wager on the Patriots and the Packers. If Patriots win by 12 pts. and Packers by 4pts. I'll win my bet. Stay tuned.
