Men and Depression, we are exposed to this experience usually before we can understand it is a reality of life. Long before I would learn, teach , and setup my first depression awareness website (http://www.rncda.com) I would witness male depression due to divorce. In those days it was considered a taboo subject.
The view of one man’s divorce meltdown
My friend was always know as the most congenial care free guy. Not real the macho type but not exactly Mr. Weakknees either. Back then, the man who suffered a meltdown after divorce was considered more material for a sitcom then a real life event. “Chad” was a dead man walking. A disaster waiting to happen. Many of us didn’t understand or respect because “men don’t do those things” in the real world. The ridicule and refusal to understand that came in response didn’t help. Knowledge that he was seeking help didn’t gain him any respect either.
The view thirty years later
As I encounter all the time, it hasn’t changed much. Divorce depression is still considered the male dirty little secret. The myth of male depression is that male depression is a myth or abnormality. We are supposed to carry the torch of macho resiliency through thick and thin.
Acceptance
There are many different aspects of real life male depression out there. Acceptance can only come through exposure. Not just one on one exposure but seeing the subject in all forms of the media. While yes this site is about relationships and surviving depression. You have to accept that if depression is a result from a dissolved relationship it must be acknowledged and dealt with before the next.
An acceptance resource
I am constantly on the prowl for tools to put in my depression toolbox. This little gem of a podcast-Men and Depression after Divorce - The Divorce 101 Show #7- host by Carol B. Ellis popped up. I recommend this episode for both men and women. The male depression myth beliefs are not just gender specific. They are a part of the society fabric we seek to unravel.
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