A report from the National Institute of Mental Health indicates that about 6 million men suffer from depression every year. Depression can be a debilitating illness that can have a big impact on one’s social, physical and mental health.
Men and women deal with depression differently. This is because, generally speaking, men and women are socialized differently. Men like to think of themselves as strong and in charge thus they may be unwilling to accept they have a problem or choose to suppress it which is not an effective way of dealing with mental health issues such as depression. The following are some of the reasons why you may want to consider joining a depression retreat for men.
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Socializing and Group Therapy
Depression can be said to be a prolonged dip in mood that comes about after one experiences life’s disappointments or tragedies. An individual struggling with depression is usually weighed down by repetitive negative thoughts that they replay in their minds repeatedly. This often leads to isolation and the individual feels that no one understands him or what he is going through.
A retreat presents an opportunity to meet people going through the same problems. By sharing their experiences an individual gets to learn more about their problem and how to overcome patterns of thought from other people going through depression treatment. Group sessions from professional facilities can help men overcome loneliness and also get useful information on how to cope with their personal and work life challenges.
Facilitates Acceptance
Research shows that men struggling with depression are less likely to acknowledge they have a problem or seek treatment when they do. This is an obstacle since the first step towards recovery is acceptance. You need to acknowledge that you need to seek professional help as soon as possible to avoid making the situation worse than it already is.
A retreat for men can encourage a person who is reluctant to get help to seek depression treatment. Group sessions can be instrumental in pushing behavior change. This is particularly true if the members of the group share the same ideas, fears, and aspirations. Joining a retreat for depression is one way to learn from other people’s experiences and motivate yourself to overcome life’s challenges.
Change of Scenery
A retreat is a break from the day-to-day environment for someone dealing with mental health problem. It can provide a needed distraction from the challenges that fuelled the depression. This can have a positive impact for someone who is undergoing treatment. Exposure to the outdoors has been found to be beneficial to the mental health of an individual and has been found to be effective in treating depression and anxiety.
A retreat organized by professional depression treatment centers is based on therapeutic group living. Therapeutic group living seeks to address issues of relational and developmental factors that led to depression. The individual learns to interact and live positively with others in the same group in an environment that is monitored by staff from a professional mental health treatment facility.
Retreats also include activities that can help you overcome depression and cope with life’s challenges more positively in the future.
Some of the skills you’ll learn include:
- Better problem-solving skills
- Improved clarity of thought
- Better decision making
- Becoming better at critical thinking
Suppressed Anger
Depression may also be as a result of suppressed anger. In a retreat, you can learn how to deal with your disappointments constructively and you will also learn how to assert yourself in a more positive and productive way. A retreat for men will help you break from the mental obstacles that may be leading you down the road to depression.
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