Guy Wisdom

Even Cowboys Get The Blues

Even Cowboys Get The Blues
Know when sadness becomes a sickness
By Cristabel Fagela

Mood switch
Society imposes a tacit rule that males should not wear their hearts on their sleeves. In fact, being emotional or expressing emotions is often considered an unwanted feminine characteristic.
Sad on the saddle.

No one goes through life unscathed. There are events that leave us devastated, unsure and shaken. For experiences where there is a sharp sense of loss felt, usually a period of mourning follows and the most salient emotion is sadness. How long this will be felt depends on many factors like the time interval, the individual’s coping skills, social support network and so on. Some are up and running after a few days while others slowly spiral down into depression.

Now when we talk about depression, we are referring to a spectrum with the ordinary blues at one end, and a full blown case of clinical depression at the other extreme. As they say, a lot of things do not come in black and white—there are a lot of shades of gray in between. And so it is with depression. Since we’ve all been intimate at one time or another with the blues, no discussion is needed on this. You may be wondering though what constitutes a diagnosis of clinical depression. The diagnostician’s bible, DSM IV-TR, presents a criteria for a Major Depressive Episode. »

Having a psychic link with you, dear reader, I can see you shaking your head and asking why the hell are we talking about depression in this magazine? After all, prevailing studies according to sex indicate that in a population, the ratio between females and males in developing depression is 2-is-to-1. So, women are more at risk in developing such a disorder, and I bet you’re thinking that the males who show symptoms are probably sissies anyway. And, being a strong manly representative of your species equips you with immunity, right? Think again.

Looking at the suicide rates, a common trend is that males commit more successful suicides than females. Figures for the Philippines, according to the 1993 data obtained by the World Health Organization (WHO), are roughly 2.5 males to 1.7 females (per 100,000).

Recent research and literature (mostly in the West) have also found out that depression may be as common for males as it is in females. The difference lies in the manifestations of the symptoms. In the book Male Menopause (see “The ‘Pause’ in Males”), author Jed Diamond compared depression in males and females on several points. He reveals that a large part of the “unacceptablity” of depression in men can be attributable to societal and cultural expectations of how a male is supposed to act. Even in this modern age when we think that our consciousness has been raised to regard the sexes equally, remnants of the traditional still persist. To illustrate my point, here’s a sort-of riddle that I often present to my students: A father and a son decided to catch a movie. They boarded their pick-up truck to go to the theatre. On the way there, their truck collided with another vehicle. The father died on the spot and the son’s condition was critical. The son was brought to the emergency room of a nearby hospital and a doctor was called to attend to the case. The doctor arrived, took one look at the patient and exclaimed, “I can’t operate on the patient; that’s my son.”

When I ask my students to explain the scenario to me, most of them get stumped. Their explanations range from the father not knowing that he was already dead (mala-Sixth Sense) to the father having an evil twin brother who was the one who died in the accident (soap operatic). Only a handful of students will get the answer right away: that the doctor was the boy’s mother. So there.

Society imposes a tacit rule that males should not wear their hearts on their sleeve. In fact, being emotional or expressing emotions is often considered an unwanted feminine characteristic. What’s wrong with expressing emotions anyway? The capacity to feel and express emotions is an integral part of being a human being, regardless of sex. With the way we are being socialized into our respective gender roles, males are taught to be stoic and poker-faced. This does not mean that they do not feel emotions such as sadness. This does not mean that they are immune to depression.

What this may mean is that males are just better in masking their depression. It may be easier for the male to admit fatigue, irritability, loss of interest in work or hobbies, and sleep disturbances rather than feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and excessive guilt.

Also, males may be employing more defenses to preserve the illusion of invulnerability. Sigmund Freud, the proponent of the psychoanalytic school of thought, said that when the ego became unduly anxious and overwhelmed, it may unconsciously adopt defense mechanisms that distort one’s perception of reality. Some examples of such mechanisms are given below. Try to identify yours.

Defense Mechanism Denial

What it is An attempt to ignore unacceptable realities by refusing to acknowledge them
For example Putting off a medical checkup in spite of recurring bodily aches and pains

Defense Mechanism Compensation

What it is Covering up weaknesses by emphasizing a more desirable trait or by overachievement in a more comfortable area
For example Thirst for intellectual pursuitsto balance for less than average looks

Defense Mechanism Displacement

What it is Transferring emotional reactions from one object or person to another object/person
For example Venting your anger towards a punching bag, imagining it’s your boss’s head

Defense Mechanism Intellectualization

What it is When an emotional response that would normally accompany a painful (or uncomfortable) incident is avoided by use of academic or intellectual explanations that remove personal feelings from the incident
For example You were passed over for a promotion—again—and you say “It’s not my time yet.”

Defense Mechanism Projection

What it is Projects shortcomings or feelings on to others
For example Extreme homophobia for a person afraid of own homosexual inclinations

Defense Mechanism Rationalization

What it is Justification of certain behaviors by faulty logic
For example Cheating on the wife, reasoning that she pushed you to have an affair because she does not accommodate your sexual needs.

Defense Mechanism Reaction formation

What it is Acting exactly opposite to the way one feels
For example Smothering a person with love when you actually hate his/her guts

Defense Mechanism Regression

What it is Resorting to an earlier stage of life or behaviors
For example Temper tantrums

Defense Mechanism Repression

What it is Threatening thoughts, feelings, and desires are kept from becoming conscious
For example Much like selective amnesia or forgetting but happens unconsciously

Defense Mechanism Hypochondriasis

What it is Exaggerating or overemphasizing an illness
For example Complaints of pain, somatic illness

Defense Mechanism Controlling

What it is Attempting to manage or regulate events or objects in the environment to minimize anxiety
For example Making home your own private Cuba and you doing a Fidel Castro

So, What Causes Male Depression?

As with most disorders, there is no simple answer. However, there have been some studies linking the occurrence to neurobiology. In the same manner that hormones and the reproductive cycle are connected with depression in females, some researchers conjecture that testoste-rone deficiency may bring on fatigue, lack of initiative and sexual difficulties–all of which may contribute to male depression.

An electronic publication of the United States National Institute of Mental Health on "Men and Depression" mentions some interesting findings of focus group discussions conducted by the NIMH to investigate depression awareness:

"...men described their own symptoms of depression without realizing that they were depressed. Notably, many were unaware that "physical" symptoms, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain, can be associated with depression. In addition, they expressed concern about seeing a mental health professional or going to a mental health clinic, thinking that people would find out and that this might have a negative impact on their job security, promotion potential, or health insurance benefits. They feared that being labeled with a diagnosis of mental illness would cost them the respect of their family and friends, or their standing in the community."

Differences may not be restricted to the symptoms alone but also to the coping strategies undertaken. There's a tendency for males to think that the symptoms can be overcome through sheer willpower or strength of character. As mentioned above, many feel that there is a stigma surrounding depression and thus, are reluctant to admit they need help. Instead, they may turn to substances for relief; may become irritable, angry or even violent. Some may devote themselves completely to their professions, drowning their sorrows in work. Others may engage in impulsive and self-defeating behaviors.

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