Men and Mental Health

Business consultant/fitness specialist Megan Senger wrote an interesting piece for IDEA Fitness Journal in October about men's mental health.  She wrote, 'while it's outside the scope of practice for a fitness professional to diagnose or treat mental illness, awareness is important.'

The following statistics highlight the need for more support in this area:

• More than 6 million men have depression each year
• Suicide is the 7th leading cause of death for all U.S. men
• Men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide
• Men underreport depression and may also underreport suicide attempts

Depression may not look the same in men as it does in women, according to William Pollack, PhD, of Harvard Medical School.  Men experiencing depression may display it in various ways other than sadness including:

• anger
• aggression
• work "burnout"
• risk-taking behavior
• alcohol and substance abuse

If left untreated, these symptoms may worsen and lead to even more serious problems.