Media 2003

For Immediate Release              Contact: Katherine Cruise, (781) 239-0071
May 9, 2005

YOU GET ANGRY; I GET SAD
NATIONAL DEPRESSION SCREENING DAY
EXPLAINS GENDERS’ MENTAL HEALTH DIFFERENCES

Mental health disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety affect men and women differently. In addition, your gender can affect how you experience these disorders: how you react, which symptoms you feel most prominently, and whether or not you seek help.

The statistics are not what you might expect. For example, although the general public tends to associate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with male war veterans, women are actually twice as likely to experience PTSD.

Also, while nearly twice as many women as men experience depression, depressed men are less likely to seek help. Men are more likely to report irritability and loss of interest in daily activities than feelings of hopelessness and despair, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Lingering stigma that associates mental health disorders with weakness can also prevent men from seeking professional help. Men are also more likely to report the physical symptoms of depression – headaches, fatigue – to a primary care physician than to visit a mental health professional.

If you’re concerned that you may be affected by any of these disorders – depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder – then find out more information on Thursday, October 6, National Depression Screening Day, held at approximately 2,500 sites across the country. At this free event, you can fill out an anonymous questionnaire that gauges your likelihood for these four common, treatable mental health disorders. You can also learn more information for yourself or someone close to you and speak with a mental health professional if necessary.

To find a National Depression Screening Day site near you, visit www.mentalhealthscreening.org (beginning mid-August).

Other comparisons:

• Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally.¹
• Women are more likely than men to have anxiety disorders and have a greater incidence of panic disorder with agoraphobia.¹
• Four times as many men as women die by suicide in the U.S. However, women attempt suicide three times more often than men.²

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¹American Psychological Association. Monitor on Psychology.Vol. 32, No. 11.
² American Association of Suicidology Fact Sheet