Male related health aspects/Introduction
Men consider themselves to be ill primarily when their physical body is sick. Psychological complaints such as anxiety or depression are still frequently stigmatized and tabooed, especially among male patients. The number of mentally ill people is currently rising, especially among men: The proportion of days absent from work due to mental health problems among men has almost doubled in the last ten years (14.7 percent in 2014). The assumption is that the number of undetected mental illnesses is significantly higher in men than in women. Therefore, there seem to be clear deficits in the diagnosis and care of mental illness in men.
The authors speak of "depression blindness" in men, which seems to have various causes. A decisive aspect is that depressive symptoms in men can often manifest themselves in different ways than in women. For example, men who suffer from depression tend to react aggressively, take risks and resort to alcohol and drugs more often. These external symptoms can then mask the "classic" internal symptoms such as feeling depressed, loss of joy or loss of self-esteem. The consequences are grave: men who are both mentally and physically ill lose an average of 20 years of their lives compared to those who are only physically ill. [1]
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Last changed: 2021-03-09 13:47:42