Depression: Being usurped in the work place and a decline in traditional male professions is likely to have a negative effect on men, experts claim.
Men face a depressing future as their stiff upper lipsstart to crumble and more women become breadwinners, psychiatrists predict.
They claim the changing economies of countries such as the UK and US have led to a ‘mancession’, with many men losing their jobs and fewer traditional employment opportunities.
Depressive disorders among men are expected to increase in the next few years – and it could mean men’s rates of depression catch up with those of women, who are traditionally more likely to seek help.
Dr Boadie Dunlop, of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, said: ‘Women are almost twice as likely to develop major depressive disorder in their lifetime as men. But we believe this may well change in the coming decades.’
Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Dr Dunlop and his colleague Tanja Mletzko suggest two major shifts are already underway in Western societies which could increase rates of depression among men.
The first change, they argue, is that society is encouraging men to discuss their feelings more and so they are no longer displaying the ‘stiff upper lip’ which stopped them from sharing their problems.
At the same time, there is ‘profound restructuring’ of traditional male jobs such as manufacturing, which are being done by cheaper labour abroad or made obsolete through technological advances.
Dr Dunlop said: ‘Dubbedby some the “mancession”, the economic downturn has hit men particularly hard because of its disproportionate effect on traditional male industries such as construction and manufacturing. Furthermore, Western women are increasingly becoming the primary household earners.
'Compared to women, men attach greater importance to their roles as providers and protectors of their families, and men’s failure to fulfill the role of breadwinner is associated with greater depression and marital conflict. Western men will face a difficult road in the 21st century.’
But Professor Cary Cooper, from the Lancaster University Management School, suggested that losing the stiff upper lip could improve men’s physical and mental health.
He said: ‘As a generalisation, men are less emotionally intelligent than women and have not traditionally been encouraged to share their feelings. Women talk about their problems more and even though they’re more likely to be treated for depression, it doesn’t lead to poor health outcomes like heart disease. You could argue if men do become more open they may have better outcomes as a result.’
精神病学家们预测说，男人们的未来很灰暗：他们正在摒弃喜怒不形于色的形象，而且越来越多的女性成了家庭的主要经济支柱。
他们声称英国和美国等国家变化的经济形势是“男性衰退”的主因，很多男人因此失业了，而且获得传统工作的机会也越来越少。
在未来几年，患抑郁症的男性会增加——这意味着患抑郁症的男性比例可能会赶上女性。传统上，女性更愿意为摆脱抑郁来寻求帮助。
埃默里大学医学院的伯迪 登洛普博士说：“女性在一生中患抑郁症的可能性几乎是男性的两倍。但是我们相信在未来几十年内，这种情况很可能会改变。”埃默里大学位于佐治亚州的亚特兰大市。
登洛普博士和他的同事坦亚 姆莱茨科在《英国精神病学》杂志上撰文称，西方社会现在正在发生两个可能会提高男性患抑郁症风险的重大改变。
他们认为第一个改变是社会在鼓励男性更多地谈论他们的感受，这样他们就不会为了保持 “情感不外露”的形象，而拒绝向别人倾诉他们遇到的问题。
同时，传统的男性集中的行业，如制造业，正在经历着“深刻的结构调整”：这些行业要么会雇用海外的廉价劳动力，要么已经在科技进步中被淘汰了。
登洛普博士说：“这次经济危机也被某些人称为‘男性衰退’，男性在这次经济衰退中遭受的打击尤其大，因为传统的男性行业，如建筑业和制造业受到了很大的冲击。另外，越来越多的西方女性开始成为家中的主要经济支柱。
“与女性相比，男性更注重他们家庭供养者和家庭保护者的角色，而如果男性没能力养家糊口，这会使男性觉得抑郁，导致夫妻冲突。对于西方男性来说，21世纪的路会很难走。”
但是兰开斯特大学管理学院的凯里 库柏教授认为摆脱“喜怒不形于色”可以促进男性的身心健康。
他说：“一般来说，男性情商要低于女性，传统上人们也并不鼓励男性分享他们的情感。女性会更多地倾诉她们遇到的问题，虽然她们因抑郁症接受治疗的可能性更大，但至少这些不会引起心脏病等严重的身体疾病。因此你可以这样认为，如果男性确实变得更加乐于倾诉，他们的健康状况也可能会更好。”
Vocabulary:
stiff upper lip: （面对痛苦或困境）不动声色，沉着而不外露
dub: to give somebody/something a particular name, often in a humorous or critical way（把……戏称为；给……起绰号）