It seems like just yesterday when a man worked a 40-hour week, could pay all the bills, and still save a little money. Their wives met them at the door when they came home. A hot, home-cooked meal waited on the table, with plenty of 'meat and potatoes.' The world seemed like a pretty simple place. If a man got depressed, he didn’t run to the doctor, he worked up a sweat mowing his lawn or washing the car. ’men’s health’wasn’t even a topic, much less headline news.

In the 1960s, only 50 people per million were diagnosed with depression, now that number has escalated to 100,000 per million. We all know people on 'those drugs' -- one out of every eight Americans has been on, or is currently taking an antidepressant. In just five years (1999 to 2004), use of antidepressants rose by almost 50%. During that same period, the suicide rate among middle-aged Americans rose by 20% and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder increased 4000%. Every time there’s a school shooting or teen suicide, the news tells us it was another kid on 'psychotropic drugs.' Why is it, the very drugs expected to alleviate depressive symptoms and suicides appear to have the opposite effect?

FDA Warning

The FDA issued a 'black box warning' (their highest level of concern), to alert doctors to reconsider prescribing these drugs, particularly for young people, and cautioning that abruptly altering the dosage of antidepressants can induce anxiety, mania, psychosis, impulsivity, hostile behavior and/or suicide in patients that had no pre-existing history of these problems. Are we alleviating a disorder, or creating new ones?

Over 20,000 people are hospitalized every year for manic psychosis induced by their antidepressants. One of the most recent studies reveals that antidepressant drugs fail to show much benefit greater than chance, when compared to placebos (harmless, non-interactive pills), except in some of the most severe cases of clinical depression. Critics of the standard medical policy to medicate mild-to-moderate cases of depression question the need to 'emotionally anesthetize patients' as a form a treatment.

Has the American public been saved from depression, or duped?

Antidepressant drugs are the most prescribed class of drugs in America, accounting for $200 million per day in drug sales! Could there be a serious over-diagnosis of depression? Surely not all depression, like grief after a loved one’s death, is a 'brain disorder' requiring drugs?

Aren’t There Any 'Natural' Solutions?

Several studies have revealed that moderate exercise 3-5 times a week can alter endorphin production (the brain’s pleasure neurotransmitters) and significantly reduce mild to moderate depression at least as well as drugs. Maybe it’s time to work up a sweat again -- time to 'mow your lawn!'

It turns out nutritional deficiencies account for many cases of depression, and numerous people respond well without drugs when nutritional needs are met. Studies show that DHA (an omega-3 fat from fish oil) positively affects brain function to eliminate feelings of depression as effectively as antidepressants, but without side effects.

Rigorous exercise, coupled with DHA/omega-3 fish oils, vitamin B12 and herbs like St. Johns Wart, can be effective ways to combat and prevent depression. These nutrients should be discussed with competent health providers. We can’t turn back the clock, but we can examine all the options to benefit depressed men’s health.