Thousands of military spouses suffer with some degree of depression, but I believe male military spouses could be at greater risk simply because we're men.
Relax ladies, I'm not trying to start a competition of who gets depressed more often and why. And guys, I'm not saying that we are so weak-minded we can't handle the rigors of being a military spouse. From birth, many of us have been raised to be the family's decision maker and leader. And not just by our parents, but by society as a whole. Nearly every school book, super hero, television character, movie script, and marketing tool has trained men to believe that we are the protectors, we are the providers.
We can't just flip a switch and happily remove ourselves from these roles once we say “I do” to military life.
It's not that easy.
I started the Macho Spouse Man-to-Man video series specifically to help male military spouses realize we are not alone. These videos allow men to share un-edited, personal insight into how they handled their own feelings of emasculation, isolation and depression. In this video, male military spouse William McEvoy talks about how years of struggling to maintain his career and self-worth sent him into a depression. It's a story many military spouses, of both genders, can relate to.
