Tag Archives: depression

Signs of Depression and Where to Look For Help!

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First and most importantly there is NO SHAME in dealing with mental health issues. Mental health does not discriminate, it effects all races, genders and class!

Depression:

Major depression—also known as clinical depression—is a serious but common medical condition that affects gay men and lesbians at a higher rate than the general population. A number of factors may contribute to this, from living in an often homophobic society to facing family rejection to being closeted in some or all aspects of life.

Some of the symptoms of depression include:

  • Depressed mood most of the day;
  • Markedly decreased interest in activities most of the day;
  • Decrease or increase in appetite;
  • Decrease or increase in sleep;
  • Fatigue or loss of energy;
  • Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt; and
  • Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

Depression treatment usually includes a thorough evaluation, patient education, and self-help instructions, individual or group talk therapy and, when appropriate, the prescription of anti-depressant medications. Treatment should begin with a thorough evaluation to rule out an underlying medical condition or the side effect of medications as the cause of the depression symptoms

Two specific types of psychotherapy have been proven effective in treating depression: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT). Steps often recommended to help combat depression include setting realistic goals, breaking tasks into small pieces, spending time with others, being physically active, avoiding drugs and alcohol consumption, being patient about the rate of improvement, and avoiding making major life decisions.

Several different classes of prescription medication are available to treat depression. These medications are prescribed by a licensed professional after careful consultation with the individual patient. They need to be taken exactly as prescribed.

If you’re unsure where to go for help, ask your primary care physician, internist, OB/GYN or health clinic for assistance. You can also check the Yellow Pages or Internet listings under such subjects as mental health, social services, suicide prevention, hospitals or physicians.
GLMA additionally has an online referrals resource you can search immediately by clicking here. Many treatment options exist to help you find the right answers.

Additional Resources

Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists
(215) 222-2800
www.aglp.org

GayHealth.com
www.gayhealth.com

National Foundation for Depressive Illness
www.depression.org

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
(800) 826-3632
www.dbsalliance.org

American Psychiatric Association
www.psych.org

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
(888) 333-2377
www.afsp.org

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
www.samhsa.gov

Depression.com
www.depression.com

A Relational Perspective on The Psychological Treatment of Gay Men: Treating Symptoms or Treating People?

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In Continuing on our health journey, our brother site, Inside First :Men’s Health Resource, we are aiming for better health, current and quality  information on issues of mental health, fitness and nutrition. We are expanding and strengthening our team everday. Below our teams newest contributor, Dr. Todd Troutman. ”Dr. Troutman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and a Masters and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. He has delivered psychological services to children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families in multiple settings, including: the Marin City School District, Berkley Mental Health Community Clinic, Access Institute For Psychological Services, and Ann Martin Center. In 2009, Dr. Troutman was awarded the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) stipend, which is a grant program that provides practitioners funding to deliver psychological services to underserved communities in California. His work through the MHSA program was focused on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning of individuals struggling with complex cognitive, emotional, and behavioral challenges.

Dr. Troutman currently works delivering individual psychotherapy to adults and adolescents, and provides clinical consultation services in his private practice in San Francisco. When he is not working in his private practice, Dr. Troutman teaches several classes in the Community Mental Health program at the California Institute Of Integral Studies (CIIS) and the Masters in Counseling Psychology program at San Francisco State University.”  drtoddtroutman.com

Treating Symptoms or Treating People?
Why Some Therapies Succeed and Others Fail:

A Relational Perspective on The Psychological Treatment of Gay Men

Public health research conducted over the last decade indicates that gay men experience higher rates of depression, panic attacks, and psychological distress than their heterosexual counterparts (Cochran et al., 2003). For their distress, many gay men seek short-term psychological treatment that is primarily focused on reducing symptoms. However, despite the use of symptom-focused therapies such as cognitive-behavioral forms of treatment (CBT), a significant portion of gay men experience chronic or recurring bouts of depression and/or anxiety. While many factors contribute to the mental health of an individual (e.g., economic status, discrimination, trauma, etc.), one reason gay men experience chronic psychological distress may be the type of mental health treatment they are receiving. Continue reading →

Men’s Mental Health: Depression- Reduce Unnecessary Stigma Attached to It

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photo source en.bestpicturesof.com

Depression is a hot topic in the media, which helps reduce the unnecessary stigma attached to it. The more we talk about depression, the more we will see it as part of being human.

Just about all of us will suffer an episode of depression during our lifetime. For some it is a clinical, deep-rooted long-lasting melancholy and for others it lasts a few days or weeks.

There is no research evidence showing gay men suffer depression any more than members of the general community. However, we do know that being a gay man today can be very tough on the human psyche, when competing for attention in the demanding homosexual landscape of fashion, fitness, obtaining sex and the clubbing environment. Continue reading →

Trevor Holland Replaced Emotional Eating With Art And Lost 95 Pounds

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A story of encouragement and a whole bag of “yes you cans!” Trevor was a big boy to start with, but what was going on inside of him that might be the cause of his rather large figure? Was it a case of serious laziness that a lot of overweight people can be accused of by the uneducated public?  You will soon find out how connect our mind and body is.

Name: Trevor Holland
Age: 28
Height: 6’3″
Before Weight: 370 pounds

How I Gained It: I’ve always been an active person and although my weight has fluctuated in the past, I’ve generally been in good shape. However, in my late teens I developed bipolar disorder (which was only diagnosed in the last six months). Then, at the age of 24, my hero, my father, died from aggressive cancer. It tore me apart, and my symptoms worsened as a result. I would use food as a response to the entire spectrum of emotion: happiness, sadness, depression, solitude, celebration, anger, etc. My eating habits spiraled out of control until I was putting myself under a great deal of financial stress. I would also eat in secret, out of shame for my behavior. Continue reading →

What Vitamin Deficiency Leads to Depression?

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Bitch, moan and whine! Why can’t I get out of bed? Why is everyone bugging the shit out of me? Why don’t I give a shit about anything? Repeat! This cycle may be caused by something as simple as vitamin D deficiency. Come on, give me your hand and let’s read this together.

via news.menshealth.com

Sure, you can blame your grumpy January mood on the post-holiday blues, the dreary weather, or your local NFL franchise not making the playoffs (Drag Queen Kicked off Ru Paul’s Drag Race). Another possible culprit: Not enough vitamin D may be what’s making you depressed, according to a study from the University of Texas.

In what is probably the largest study on vitamin D and depression ever conducted, researchers examined more than 12,500 patients over 4 years. The findings: The lower the levels of the vitamin in someone’s blood, the greater their chances were of suffering from clinical depression. Continue reading →

Shedding Light on Depression Symptoms of Men (Video)

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2012 is here and let the resolutions begin and end. It’s the time of year to conquer your to-do lists and to-be list’s. Although these may lead to healthier choices and life style changes, they may also lead to you being extremely and unreasonably hard on yourself. You may be stacking yourself up to your neighbor who has a two car garage (with 2 cars), a muscle daddy husband, 2 french bulldogs with perfect markings, a full head of hair, the money to do all his shopping at Whole Foods ($$$) and these overly cheerful hummingbirds circling his home.! First off stop! Second of all these are all external, material things, and unless you dive down deep into his mental state, nerves, heart and blood pressure don’t be all that envious. Don’t get me wrong all those things your neighbor may have are wonderful, but appearance really only skin deep. What would you rather have ,2 french bulldogs with perfect markings or a totally content and happy mind?

Far to many men hide behind shields of possessions, jobs and physicality in hopes to convince themselves that they are ‘good’ and to give off the appearance that “all is well in the hood,” when in reality they are a crumbling mess with rocket high anxiety and crippling depression.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the complex issue of mental issue among men. As our first post, we wanted to get the ball rolling and discussion started. We asked our good friend Dr George Forgan-Smith from The Healthy Bear  Website to give us a quick run down of some possible symptoms of depression. Please join the conversation and add comments below.

An Introduction to Inside First: Gay Men’s Health Resource

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A quality resource for gay men to safely learn, teach and communicate about health issues with one another in the spirit of good health.

We want to help you get your mind, body and spirit on the same playing field. Our goal is to help gay men take a good long deep look on the inside at the same time, as pumping up their biceps. Happy mind = better looking biceps. Our community has far to much focus on physical appearance, leaving mental health issues hidden, ignored and something to be a shamed of. We say NO MORE.

 

We are searching for other health practitioners and doctors to share their specialties with us on Accidental Bear website and be featured. E-mail us at accidentalbear@gmail.com for more information.

JOIN OUR TEAM!

In order to achieve overall health and a happier you, you need to start by looking inside first, which includes your mental health (depression, anxiety, body image etc) and nutrition.

“Gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent an incredibly diverse community. Gay and bisexual men have both shared and unique experiences and circumstances that affect their physical health and mental health needs as well as their ability to receive high-quality health services.” CDC

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