World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 every year.
The objective is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to rally support of mental health.
This year the main focus is on men and depression.
While depression is becoming increasingly common, men are still three times less likely than women to seek professional help and be diagnosed.
The suicide rate for depressed men versus women is four to one. Depression is underpinned by many biological, psychological and social triggers, said Dr Hemant Nowbath, a specialist psychiatrist at Life Mount Edgecombe Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
Dr Nowbath said, “There may be a family history, underlying medical problems, financial difficulties, problems in relationships, social isolation or bereavement. The stresses of living in a society bedevilled by crime, violence, corruption, poverty, racism and lack of opportunity should also not be ignored.”
Despite the fact that depression is one of the most treatable psychiatric disorders, with between 80 and 90 percent of all depressed people responding to treatment, South African men are unfortunately still reluctant to seek help because of the stigma attached to mental illness.
“This is due to the societal expectation of men never expressing tears and sad emotions,” said Ms Pauline Mawson, a clinical psychologist at Life Bedford Gardens Hospital in Bedfordview.
“Men tend to bottle things up, which can become completely overwhelming,”she added.
According to Dr Nowbath, depression in men is often more severe and presents differently.
“Pressure on the ‘macho man’ needing to be in control of his emotions, means that depression in men is frequently disguised by unhealthy coping strategies. These include working long hours at the office, or spending huge amounts of time at the gym; abusing substances, especially alcohol; and inappropriate behaviour such as aggression, violence and anger.”
Dr Nowbath added that because men may not be typically depressed and tend to suffer from numerous physical complaints such as exhaustion, headaches, chronic pain and digestive and sleep problems, the diagnosis of depression is often missed, which can have dramatic consequences. Depressed men are four times more likely than their female counterparts to commit suicide.
They battle to come forward, as this is (wrongly) considered a sign of weakness and excessive emotion.
“Men need to understand that depression is a biochemical illness that needs to be treated from a medical point of view and has nothing to do with being less of a man,” said Dr Reino Verster, a psychiatrist at Life Hunterscraig Private Hospital in Port Elizabeth.
“There are chemicals in the brain that regulate your mood, such as serotonin, noradrenalin and dopamine. When these concentrations become abnormal, you become clinically depressed, and the only way to overcome this is to restore the balance with the help of a qualified health practitioner,” said Dr Verster.
Dr Nowbath added that a combination of medication and psychotherapy can be highly effective in most cases.
