It is thought that male depression affects about 5% of all men. Trouble is, most of us are unlikely to spot the symptoms of male depression, let alone admit we’ve got it.

Men react to depression differently from women. Anger and aggression are two common signals of a depressed man. So immediately that makes it more difficult to spot.

That means some of the tell-tale signs of male depression include things like road rage and other sudden anger bouts. These outbursts can quite easily be thought of as being “just usual” whereas they are really more deeply rooted.

Most men find it difficult to talk about their feelings. Even men who you’d categorize as “modern” fall into this trap. Many men think it’s a sign of failure if they have to talk about their feelings rather than just “deal” with them.

Which means that the advice you’d give a depressed woman to “simply talk about your feelings” isn’t something that many men would take kindly to.

Bottling up your emotions may be the “manly” thing to do. But longer term, it’s really bad for you. Those bottled up feelings can start to eat away at you.

So what can you do to cure your male depression? If you can convince yourself to talk about the feelings you’ve got – maybe with the excuse of a fishing trip or a trip to the bar – then that’s good. If you find that idea awkward or impossible, try talking about a “friend” who’s got the problems you’re experiencing. Men are natural problem solvers, so there’s a high chance you’ll get some excellent advice if you can go down this route. A confidential doctor’s appointment could get you some anti-depressant drugs, which can be a good short term solution.

A different way is to use a totally discrete option to help overcome your male depression. The internet really comes into its own here. You can download depression help at the click of a button and nobody (except your credit card company’s computer) will be any the wiser. You can then read or listen to the anti-depression material at your own pace.

Discover more ways to combat male depression here.

Tags: depression in men, how to deal with male depression, male depression