Lifting the Weight: Understanding Depression in Men, Its Causes and Solutions

(Hardback)

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Depression in men often goes undiagnosed or improperly treated because of unique qualities that make it different from depression in women. In this volume, Dr. Kantor explains that depression in men is not strictly the product of major life events; it also regularly appears in response to minor troubling issues that often go entirely overlooked by others or, if recognized at all, are downplayed. In this jargon-free text, Kantor explains how many men are able to navigate the big stresses successfully only to succumb to the little ones. And he challenges the current widespread tendency now viewing depression in men as a strictly biological event to be treated first and foremost with pharmaceuticals. Psychiatrist Martin Kantor takes us into his treatment rooms and daily experience to show the signs and causes of depression in men, and how they do not display the disorder most often in the way we typically associate with depression. Many men who feel depressed deny it by shifting into hypomania. Trying to hide, reject or downplay the feeling, they may become excessively elated, have a decreased need for sleep, find their thoughts racing and their sexual desire fueled out of control. Where there was, initially with depression, a withdrawal and a desire to weep, then enters attention-seeking behavior, clowning and flighty energy, explains Kantor. That makes the depression far more difficult for laypeople and professionalseven for the men themselvesto recognize and deal with. That is unfortunate because a small amount of medical attention and personal affection can work wonders, rechanneling the man into a life of happiness he might never have known, and a level of achievement he might never othewise have attained, says Kantor Long thought to be a feminine disorder connected to hormones and the premenstrual syndrome, depression actually strikes millions of men each year. With absorbing vignettes, and insights into a faulty culture that urges men to always have a stiff upper lip and shun medical attention, Dr. Kantor shows the unique ways in which depression is very much a men's disorder. And he helps us understand what we can do to treat it, to help ourselves and the men we care about recover.

Reviews

This is among the most compelling books on the topic of men and depression this reviewer has ever encountered. Kantor uses his deep professional insights and vast experience to tease apart and explain the complexities involved in the diagnosis and treatment of men suffering from depression. The book covers such topics as guilt, paranoia, sexuality, violence, and passive dependency, and many of the chapters conclude with the differences in the way these difficulties play out in men and women.Clinicians will particularly appreciate a chapter on therapeutic errors, which maps out many mistakes and misperceptions that are common in treating depressed men, e.g., urging the client to take a vacation or increase physical activity. Chapters on self-help and coping with depressed men are also excellent. Readers should profit from Kantor's expansive understanding of this complex topic. Highly recommended. Graduate students through professionals. * Choice *
To his credit, Kantor avoids overly complicated writing and jargon, attempting to appeal to a broader church than professionals. Additionally, the author is obviously well attuned to the issues facing men prone to depression. His sensitivity to men and their issues is a real strength of the book. Thus, readers will find some fascinating reading here on a broad range of issues including sadomasochism and male depression, male lear of success and depression, the translation of male depression into hypomania, anger and self- or other-criticism, and dealing with male client resistances (for example, excessively blaming others or not feeling the need for help). The psychotherapy and self-help chapters are particularly useful in showing the broad tools that men can use . . . Kantor should be commended for putting out there his best understanding from the perspective of an experienced practitioner. I believe this book is an excellent place to start for those practitioners and clients who wish to learn more about depression among a surprisingly neglected group--men. * International Journal of Men's Health *

Author Bio

Martin Kantor, MD is a Harvard psychiatrist who has been in full private practice in Boston and New York City, and active in residency training programs at several hospitals, including Massachusetts General and Beth Israel in New York. He also served as Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical School and as Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New JerseyNew Jersey Medical School. He is currently a full-time medical author, the author of more than a dozen other books, including Homophobia, Second Edition (Praeger 2009); Uncle Sam's Shame: Inside the Veteran's Administration (Praeger 2008); Lifting the Weight: Understanding Depression in Men: Its Causes and Solutions (Praeger 2007); The Psychopathy of Everyday Life: How Antisocial Personality Disorder Affects All of Us (Praeger, 2006); Understanding Paranoia: A Guide for Professional, Families, and Sufferers (Praeger 2004); Distancing: Avoidant Personality Disorder, Revised and Expanded (Praeger, 2003), Passive-Aggression: A Guide for the Therapist, the Patient, and the Victim (Praeger, 2002), Treating Emotional Disorder in Gay Men (Praeger, 1999), and Homophobia (Praeger, 1998).