Even though we live in an era in which roles change and boundaries are pushed further than ever, some concepts remain untampered. We question pretty much everything. We put old ethical systems to scrutiny.
We reevaluate gender and social roles and choose our personal identities freely. Yet, most of us still believe that “boys don’t cry.” Men are to be tough, strong, restless machines of success and motivation. And this belief is dangerous in so many ways.
Well Thank You, Evolution!
Modern society still dearly values certain prehistoric skills. This is not an exaggeration. It is an evolutionary fact. Men were the ones who were supposed to protect the tribe and the cave from rather dangerous creatures. They didn’t have a choice but to be fierce, aggressive even, and always alert. This was a necessary behavioral adaptation. Back then.
You can already see where the problem is. The man of the 21st century doesn’t need to maintain this constant fight-mode. In addition to being safe from carnivores most of the time, men nowadays do not need to be sole providers for their families. Even the concept of family from the 1950s with traditional gender roles is mostly long gone. Nonetheless, boys are still taught that feelings and talk are for girls. Very often men get the message that they need to hold their emotions in and present themselves as strong and impenetrable – think superman’s fortress of solitude. Now, since men are not immune to succumbing to depression, the perils of such upbringing then become apparent. Being disconnected from their emotions, and lacking the acceptable resources to express them and deal with them in a healthy manner, men often experience numerous maladaptive manifestations of depression.
Is it a Road Rage? No, it’s Male Depression.
Research shows that prevalence of male depression is far higher than statistics report. But even in the clinical practice, depression is considered to be four to five times more frequent among women.
