Letters: When men are depressed

Re “New look at male depression,” Aug. 29

Thank you for publishing this article on the front page. It is a story that has been undervalued, not just in the media but by medical research in general.

As a psychologist, I find it sad that even within the community of physicians and mental health professionals, we often fail to recognize or treat men in ways that would identify and engage them in a therapeutic process. Our definitions of mental health or dysfunction have tended to reflect a gender-blind perspective that denies innate differences.

It’s time we learn to understand and address men in the language that speaks to their minds and hearts, respecting their values and identities as men. Only then will they trust there is really any help to be gained in pursuing necessary and even lifesaving interventions.

Evelyn Kohan

Calabasas

One of the hazards of being male is our propensity to be afflicted with what can only be described as “male-pattern doctor” or “psychiatrist office avoidance syndrome.”

This behavior seems to explain why so many of us declare one day to be feeling just fine, only to practically drop dead the next day or to commit some horrendous act.

The old exhortations to “be a man” and “take it like a man” have been replaced by “man up,” all of which have caused great harm.

It would seem from this article that psychiatry has been gynocentric in describing depression. UCLA, for example, has a plethora of outpatient clinics that address a number of conditions, including a women’s life clinic.

Perhaps it’s time that someone establish a men’s life clinic.

Joseph Gius

Los Angeles

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