Depression in Men
We all know that one of the main symptoms of depression is overwhelming sadness; however, in men, it is common that it manifests through anger, irritability, risky behavior, and even aggression. It is not the norm, but since these are also named by male patients, it could be one of the main reasons why depression in men is a misdiagnosed mental illness.
What’s more, there are physical side effects to depression (back or chest pains, headaches, and even physical pain), which makes a lot of men self-medicate with alcohol and medications. In these cases, most patients would find out they have depression following a checkup for another physical illness or when getting help for substance abuse.
For women, there is a chance that they will be told they are overreacting and too emotional instead of being taken seriously when they describe their symptoms. No matter how one looks at this issue, depression is a serious misdiagnosed mental illness that can lead to people losing their lives, so we should be understanding of those around us who live with this illness and keep an eye out for symptoms in our loved ones.
However, these are not the only misdiagnosed mental illnesses that can lead to serious consequences. In seniors, dementia can potentially be misdiagnosed due to these myths here!
