Sources say the intervention was spearheaded by Rihanna’s longtime personal assistant. Jennifer Rosales was the person who RiRi called in a panic on that fateful night in 2009 begging her to contact the police after her then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, punched, kicked and bit her in a fit of rage.

Get It Straight

We all know how much RiRi loves to get her drink on, but apparently she likes to smoke a little chronic too. She has definitely cut back on her vices, but has no coping skills, therefore, without the substances that she once used as a crutch, she has fallen into a deep depression.

RiRi please get some help before it’s too late!

Alcohol Problem? Rihanna Drinks Shot On Stage [VIDEO]

Rihanna Gets Drunk, Flips The Bird On Stage [PHOTOS]

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: @Sweet_Sweetback

Everyone gets down occasionally, sometimes you have a good reason, other times you’re down for reasons unbeknownst even to yourself, but you’re still down. And then we all moan and bitch about being depressed until we snap out of our mood and carry on life as normal.

Because everyone, at some time, feels like this, people brush off when someone is actually suffering from depression like it’s no big deal. People tell them to snap out of it, toughen up, get up out of bed and move on. The fact that depression is a real psychological illness which needs actual care seems to elude a lot of people, because “depression” is just something that everyone feels on occasion. If you let it get the better of you, then it’s a sign of emotional weakness, not a disease.

But the facts are that depression is a serious disease. In fact, “depression is one of the most common health conditions in the world,” which, if left untreated, can seriously alter the sufferer’s quality of life. Depression has even been found to be more damaging to your long-term health and well-being than chronic illnesses such as arthritis and diabetes. Therefore, our preconceived stereotypes of what is a “depression sufferer” need to be reassessed – and pronto.

Lasonda Wilkins-Hines, a licensed social worker specializing in depression, rationalizes that this stereotypical attitude of depression is seen with African-American’s especially because; “We come from a culture where we need to be strong as African-American women and it’s been passed down for generations that you suck it up or you talk to the pastor.” Psychologist Dr. Yolanda Brooks agrees, stating; “Black women tend to present themselves to society as strong, resilient human beings… you can trace this dynamic back to slavery, when a woman had to pretend she was okay when she was actually suffering inside.”

This social stigma is particularly relevant to African-Americans – of the nearly 20 million Americans who suffer from depression each year, African-American women are affected more than any other group! In 2009, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that only 12% of African-American women receive treatment for their depression, which, sadly, but perhaps tellingly, is the number one cause of suicides in this country.

Reading the case this week of the mother, LaShanda Armstrong, who drove off a pier, killing herself along with three of her four children, it struck me how isolating depression can be. The psychologist’s and police officers who spoke of the tragedy claimed that none of the woman’s family or friends noticed any depressive symptoms, and she hadn’t said anything to them, but clearly there was something going on, as she could think of no other avenue out, but suicide. Relatives and friends of the woman have said she was a “good mom…. she just needed a helping hand,” but (at least from what has so far been reported), no one thought to seek professional help for her. Maybe because, they didn’t know what symptoms to look for.

Dr. James Bolton, a Consultant Psychiatrist lists some common symptoms of depression to look out for in your loved ones, and urges people to seek help, for, “it can be helpful for people to talk about their problems and offload. It isn’t always easy to do but there’s a lot to be said for the ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ proverb.”

1. Physical changes
Dr. Bolton believes that sudden shifts in sleep patterns are a strong physical symptom of depression. “Finding it difficult to get off to sleep or waking up during the night, or too early in the morning are all potential physical signs,” he says. Also take notice of other physical changes; most notably, when someone starts losing their appetite and losing weight, libido and an interest in sex.

2. Mood Swings
In terms of personality change some people might be angrier than others and some might be more risk taking. However, as even a bad day at work, or a lot of traffic on the drive home can alter your mood, Dr. Bolton notes that mood changes may be only depressive symptoms when these changes are new. He says, “in terms of our personality we will all have a fuse of a certain length. So we will all get irritable under certain circumstances. But when someone is suffering from depression they find that their fuse is much shorter. They’ll fly off the handle at people quite close to them that they normally wouldn’t get angry with. Also things that they can normally tolerate and cope with will make them lose control.”

3. Fracturing relationships
Dr. Bolton notes that people with depression find it difficult to recognize what is happening to themselves and thus, become difficult to live with, especially if their partner is trying to help them, for they don’t recognize the problem. They begin to put in less time with their friends and family, and become increasingly moody.

If anyone you know looks like they are suffering from depressive symptoms, help them out. Don’t wait for another tragedy like LaShanda Armstrong and her children to occur before we acknowledge that depression is a serious illness.

Black Women And Mental Health: “I’m Not Crazy”

Kandi Reveals Battle With Depression [VIDEO]

“Facebook Depression” Becomes An Actual Risk For Teens [REPORT]

Unexplained Weight Loss

For most women, this is a dream come true. But if you lose 10 pounds or more in a 1-month period, without an increase in exercise or a decrease in food intake, be sure to pay your doctor a quick friendly visit.

Bloating

Since bloating is so common for women, it is only natural for it to be easily overlooked. But excessive bloating could be a symptom to ovarian cancer. If bloating occurs and continues for a long period of time, be sure to consult with your physician.

A Boob Rash

Women generally know to be on the look out for lumps as a major sign for breast cancer. But did you know redness or thickening of the skin is a sign as well? This can be a sign of inflammatory breast cancer. If you have a rash that lasts longer than a few weeks, consult with your physician.

Blood In Urine

If you have blood in your urine or stool, please do not assume that it is from a hemorrhoid. It could actually be a sign of colon, bladder, or kidney cancer. Coughing up blood is another sign that you need to put a rush on paying your doc a visit.

Changes Inside Your Mouth

If you notice any white patches inside the mouth or white spots on the tongue, it could possibly be a sign of a pre-cancerous condition called leukoplakia. This can develop into oral cancer, according to The American Cancer Society.

If you have one or more of these symptoms, stop what you are doing and seek medical attention. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. After all, your health is your wealth!

Get health tips, recipes and more at yoplait.com/yoplaittoday.

4 Breakfast Foods To Avoid

How To Boost Your Self-Esteem

5 Workouts You Can Do Without A Gym

Eric then went on to discuss a period of battling depression and explained how hooking  up with a certain young lady, where the connection was so strong, it brought him out of his depression.

Take a look:

Abiola Gives Eric Benet Tough Love

EYE CANDY: Eric Benet

Nowadays, it’s hard to find someone who isn’t depressed.  Whether it’s family, friends, or money, nobody has the perfect life. But when do problems become too much to handle? Fantasia felt that she had too much on her plate and tried to end it: Now we are all wondering what happened that made her get this close to the edge.

With all of the therapy and medication available today, it’s always sad when people choose a different route to get through their problems.

Fantasia’s situation continued to go from bad to worse. Everything started out perfectly for her in 2004 when she was a top seller. At this point, stress was nowhere near the Top 10 on her to-do list.  Rather, she was going on tours, being nominated for Grammy’s, and starring in a movie made specifically about her life.  However, once Fantasia hurt her vocal cords, the gray clouds started appearing.

Everything kept adding up and eventually Fantasia thought she had no way out.

Fantasia’s friend chimed in about where she thinks Fantasia went wrong. Find out what she said at PopEater.

RELATED LINKS:

Would You Get Plastic Surgery To Look Like Kim Kardashian?

Is A Man Necessary To Start A Family?

FROM BLACKDOCTOR.ORG:

All new parents know if you ask five people for their advice, you’ll get ten different  opinions. Here’s a list of sanity-saving survival tips to help you endure the challenges of your baby’s first months.

1. Trust Yourself
Most new parents alternate between feeling like a major-league pro and an inept rookie. But, always remember: You are part of an unbroken chain of successful parents that stretches all the way back to the beginning of time!  Trust your feelings and relax, all your baby needs right now is milk and your nourishing love.

2. Lower Your Expectations
Many pregnant couples today have never even touched a newborn, yet they expect to automatically know what to do the moment their baby is born. Another little-told truth about becoming a parent is that many new moms and dads don’t feel smitten right away. Falling in love might take a little time. Also, your hormonal rollercoaster often leads to forgetfulness. And, ditziness is made ten times worse by exhaustion. Clear thinking is tough in the face of sleep deprivation. So be patient and kind to yourself.

3. Accept All the Help You Can Get
Never in history were a mother and a father expected to care for their baby all by themselves. Get help and don’t feel guilty about asking – or paying – for it. Lean on your support network to help take care of you-you’ll pay it back later.

4. Get Your Priorities Straight: Should You Take a Break or Do the Dishes?
Addressing baby announcements and retuning phone calls is NOT your top job. Don’t try to do too much and remember to rest. Fatigue can make you depressed, irritable, and distort your view of the world like a fun-house mirror. So please get some rest!

5. Be Flexible: It’s Better to Bend Than to Snap
The universal bumper sticker of parenthood says, “Be flexible…or die!” It’s fun to choose which parenting options make sense to you, but, it’s important to be flexible and recognize when things are not going as planned.

How to raise little helpers

6. Know Thyself: How Do Your Baby’s Cries Make You Feel?
Your baby’s screams may trigger a flood of upsetting feelings. You may suddenly remember voices of anger, criticism, and ridicule from long ago. Fatigue and stress canfool your mind making innocent cries feel like stinging attacks. This is normal. Share your feelings with someone who cares about you. Discuss your past pains, will help you see how unrelated your baby’s cries are to those old experiences.

7. Don’t Rock the Cradle Too Hard: Babies, Frustration, and Child Abuse
The sound of a baby’s cry sets off a “red alert” inside our brains. This crying can sometimes push even a loving parent over the edge into the dark abyss of child abuse when coupled with fatigue, depression, financial stress, hormonal chaos, family conflict, and a history of being abused. When you’re near your breaking point; get some help. Talk to a friend, relative, or crisis hotline.

8. Keep Your Sense of Humor Handy
You don’t want to make mistakes, but you will. Remember, perfection is found only in the dictionary. So, forget dignity, forget organization, be gentle with yourself and laugh, laugh, laugh. Laughter raises your spirits, lowers your stress and is exactly what this doctor orders.

9. Take Care of Your Spouse (S/he Just Might Come in Handy Someday)
Taking care of a new baby is so demanding it’s easy for a parent to start feeling like s/he’s giving a 110% effort (usually true) and their partner is giving only 75% (usually false). Caring for your baby is only half your job; the other half is giving each other some TLC. Dads must support and adore their wives; moms must nurture and caress their husbands. Cut each other some extra slack and avoid harsh criticisms.

10. Don’t Ignore Depression: The Uninvited Guest
As shocking as it sounds, approximately forty percent of new moms experience unhappy feelings during the weeks after giving birth. Becoming tearful, worried, or ex- hausted yet unable to sleep may all signal postpartum depression? Get help!

Is it okay to drink around your children?

(From yourtango.com)

If there’s one thing that redeems the terrible process of breaking up with someone, it’s the transformation-rich recovery period that follows.

Don’t get us wrong: Breakups are a sad, sorry business, and even the cleanest ones entail some kind of annoying consequence or follow-up, like adjusting to an empty bed or having to return that awesome space heater he left at your apartment. The key to making the most of your breakup is engaging in life-affirming activities: little things that will empower you start over and set out into the great unknown (singlehood—eek!) with courage and resilience. Resist binge-drinking, rebound guys or ex sex, and consider these fun post-breakup activities instead:

1) Vacationing

Breakups are stifling, and there’s no reason to sit around your house, marinating in everyday reminders of your ex, when you can be climbing the Great Wall of China or sipping mimosas in a European villa. If you’re afraid of vacationing alone, bring a friend. If anything, you might meet a handsome stranger who can further distract you from what’s-his-face back home.

Does a relationship age gap matter?

2) Chopping off your hair

It’s clichéd, we know, but the beautiful thing about breakups is that they provide you with a handy excuse for indulging in all kinds clichés for the sake of recovery. Makeovers help you start over by serving as a physical reminder that you’ve made a commitment to move on and change for the better. Remember how cute Reese Witherspoon’s breakup haircut looked after her divorce from Ryan Philippe? Get thee to a salon, long-tressed one! Just remember to let your stylist handle the sharp tools—haircuts are fun, but you don’t want to go down the Britney Spears route.

Click here for more

Dating resolutions for 2010 that you should keep

We are at the beginning of the holiday season and that means spending time with family and friends at events and parties. For some people the holiday season is a reminder of the loneliness, anxiety and sadness.  These symptoms can lead to depression, which an estimated 33 to 35 million U.S. adults are likely to experience at some point in their lives.  The disease effects men and women of all ages, races and economic levels. However, women are at a significantly greater risk than men to develop major depression.

Survival Guide For New Moms

Many women say that  not attending parties, decorating, shopping or giving presents due to their depression. They also report that drinking too much and said stress and anxiety – not family, gifts or holiday cheer — were the first terms that came to mind when thinking about the holiday season according to the website depression-guide.com

The site featured a survey that “shows that there are many women who unnecessarily suffer from depression during the holidays,” says Amy Niles, president of the NWHRC.” The good news is that there are things you can do to help prevent feeling this way:

• Careful Planning: Trying to be super mom especially when doing things at the last minute is sure to drive anyone to drink. So learn to say ‘No’ when necessary, plan days and events accordingly also learning the art of delegating responsibilities will be extremely helpful.
• Regular Exercise: Exercise releases endorphins which can naturally make an individual feel better.
• Volunteering: When we help others it can take the focus of off our own lives and it gives a greater sense of purpose.
• Seek Help: Support from loved ones and treatment by a health-care professional can help individuals overcome depression and enjoy the holidays.

5 Unhealthy Habits You Might Have

Check out these celeb moms:

Mike Tyson is  speaking out about the horrible accident that claimed his 4 year-old daughter’s life and how he’s trying to continue living his life.

Mike will be appearing on Fox’s new series, Brothers, which stars Michael Strahan and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell.

The heavyweight champ will be making a cameo as he shows up on screen to collect money from Strahan, but adds that the acting gig is helping him get over his depression.

Says Tyson:

“I knew Chill over 25 years ago. I met Mike recently. I really was beating myself up over my daughter. I was staying in the house, depressed; it was a dark moment in my life. This keeps me functioning as a healthy human being.”

I am working with dealing with it. I have spoken to a lot of people. I have become a member of an exclusive club no one wants to join. I have been told the pain never stops but you get over it. I am going through a process, trying to heal. I am in denial, because I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t know what to do or say. I appreciate everybody who supported me.”

The show will premiere on September 25th with Tyson’s episode airing later in the season.

Watch the video:

Mike Tyson marries for the third time

Click here to see Mike over the years:

Ginuwine opens up to essence. com, about his depressed state:

ESSENCE.COM: On a more serious note, you lost both your parents in 1999 and 2000. How have you been coping?

GINUWINE: After my father shot himself to death and my mother died from cancer less than a year later, I really didn’t want to be here anymore, I didn’t want to live and tried to commit suicide more than once. There was no one around that I really loved at the time, so I turned to the drinking and drugs like weed and ecstasy. I was done mentally and emotionally to the point that I had to go see a psychiatrist, but that didn’t do any good because I wasn’t interested. In fact, the two times I visited him I was high. I was depressed and felt like I had nobody to talk to that could relate to me.

Ginuwine feat. Brandy’s “Bridge To Life”

ESSENCE.COM: Wow. What was the turning point for you?

GINUWINE: I had one friend who intervened and begged me to get help. Even though I didn’t continue with my therapy, I went to church and received counseling from my pastor and got straight spiritually. I was able to turn away from all those things that were destroying me and finally think clearly. I had to ask myself whether or not I wanted to go out like my dad and have my kids hurt the way I was hurting. I’ve been clean for about seven years. Now, I keep all that stuff away from me, especially when I’m on the road.

We’re glad he reached out and got the help he needed.

Check out the singer over the years:

Ginuwine is turned off by LisaRaye.

Here are some suggestions on how to treat depression without medication:

1. Expose Yourself – To Sunshine
Research has shown that exposure to sunshine reduces depression. This makes perfect sense. People struggling with depression typically avoid sunlight and prefer darkened rooms with the curtains drawn. This only exacerbates feelings of isolation, sadness and hopelessness. Even if you just go sit outside, exposing yourself to sunlight will help lift your mood.

Should you screen your teen for depression.

2)  Melatonin
Melatonin is a natural hormone that the body produces which lulls you to sleep. People struggling with depression tend to sleep all day and stay up all night. This usually results in less deep sleep, or REM sleep. REM sleep is when your mind dreams and your body repairs the damage done during the day. It is important to maintain healthy sleep patterns when fighting any type of mental illness or mental stressor.

Click here to find out more.

10 natural remedies for PMS.

Being a teen is hard. But could your teen actually be depressed? Some are suggesting yearly depression screenings for teens to hopefully help them get through those tough times.

[From the NY Times]

CHICAGO (AP) – An influential government-appointed medical panel is urging doctors to perform routine screening on all American teenagers for depression, a step that acknowledges that nearly two million teenagers are affected by this debilitating condition.

Most are undiagnosed and untreated, said the panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, which sets guidelines for doctors on a host of health issues.

The task force recommendations appear in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics. And they go further than the American Academy of Pediatrics’ own guidance for screening of teenage depression.

An estimated 6 percent of American teenagers are clinically depressed. Evidence shows that detailed but simple questionnaires can accurately diagnose depression in primary-care settings like a pediatrician’s office.

The task force said that when followed by treatment, including psychotherapy, screening can help improve symptoms and help children cope. Because depression can lead to persistent sadness, social isolation, school problems and even suicide, screening to treat it early is crucial, the panel said.

The task force is an independent panel of experts convened by the federal government to establish guidelines for treatment in primary care. Its new guidance goes beyond the pediatrics academy, which advises pediatricians to ask teenage patients questions about depression. Other doctor groups advise screening only high-risk youngsters.

Because depression is so common, “you will miss a lot if you only screen high-risk groups,” said Dr. Ned Calonge, task force chairman and chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The group recommends research-tested screening even for children without symptoms. It cited two questionnaires that focus on depression tip-offs, like mood, anxiety, appetite and substance abuse.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Maybe it’s just PMS!

But wait – not so fast – some say depression is GOOD for you!

[From Health.com]

Yoga can improve the emotional health of breast cancer patients, contends a new U.S. study.

“Given the high levels of stress and distress that many women with breast cancer experience, the opportunity to experience feeling more peaceful and calm in the midst of breast cancer is a significant benefit,” lead researcher Suzanne Danhauer, of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, said in a university news release.

The study involved 44 women with breast cancer. About a third of them were undergoing cancer treatment during the study, and the others had completed their treatment. Half were enrolled in a yoga program, and half were put on a waiting list for the program.

Women in the yoga group participated in 75-minute classes in restorative yoga – a more passive and gentle form of yoga that uses props such as cushions and blankets for support. At the beginning and end of the study, both groups of women completed questionnaires evaluating their quality of life.

After 10 weeks of classes, the yoga participants showed greater improvements in areas of mental health such as depression, positive emotions and spirituality – feeling calm and peaceful – than did the women still waiting to begin the yoga program. The yoga group reported, on average, a 50 percent reduction in feelings of depression and a 12 percent increase in feelings of peace and meaning. Yoga participants also reported less fatigue than the others, the study found.

So what does this mean? Click here to read the rest of the article.

Don’t have time for yoga? Take a few quickie meditation tips from Simone Kelly Brown.

Yoga is great for treating more things than stress. Click here to find out another way yoga can improve your life!

What’s better – being depressed and in a relationship, or being depressed, on meds, and single? It’s a tough call. However, a recent study is suggesting that being on antidepressants actually lowers a person’s chances of finding the right partner, so maybe they’re not as effective as “happy pills” as we thought. How… depressing.

[From Wired]

Antidepressant drugs, already known to cause sexual side effects, may also suppress the basic human emotions of love and romance.

That SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors – the most common type of antidepressant – cause sexual dysfunction is common knowledge. Of the 31 million adults in the United States who take the SSRIs, about 30 percent are believed to experience sexual dysfunction.

But a new theory suggests that SSRI antidepressants may also subtly alter the fundamental chemistry of love and romance, snuffing the first sparks between two people otherwise destined to become lovers, and preventing couples from bonding.

“There’s every reason to think SSRIs blunt your ability to fall and stay in love,” said Helen Fisher, a Rutgers University biological anthropologist who has pioneered the modern science of love.

For some people, of course, sexual side effects are an acceptable price to pay for curing debilitating depression. But as antidepressant use becomes more common, extending beyond full-blown clinical depression to disorders like anxiety and, in some cases, insomnia, the possibility of love-stunting is troubling.

SSRI antidepressants work by boosting circulating levels of serotonin, a mood-regulating neurotransmitter that also inhibits desire. The drugs also decrease dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in a wide range of cognitive and behavioral processes, among them desire and arousal. The new research suggests that dopamine may also play a part in romance.

During sex, a cocktail of hormones is released that appears to play important roles in fostering romantic attachment within the brain. Take away sex, and romantic love can dwindle. But this is just part of the problem, say Fisher and University of Virginia psychiatrist James Thomson.

Dopamine also appears central to the neurobiology of romantic love and attachment, conditions that Fisher believes to be affected by – but ultimately distinct from – sexual love and its effects. She and Thomson say that SSRIs may do more than cause sexual dysfunction: They also suppress romance.

“There are all sorts of unconscious systems in our brain that we use to negotiate romantic love and romantic attraction,” said Thomson. “If these drugs cause conscious sexual side effects, we’d argue that there are going to be side effects that are not conscious.”

According to Fisher, humans have three distinct but interconnected love-related brain systems: one for sex, another for attachment and another for romantic love. This is still hypothetical – nobody knows exactly what love does in the brain – but Fisher has been a pioneering researcher on romantic love’s neurobiology, and dopamine indeed appears important.

When couples have just fallen in love, the mere sight of the other causes a jump in dopamine-related brain activity. If they manage to stay in love, with the early flush giving way to long-term affection, those brain patterns stay active.

Reduced dopamine levels, however, are an inevitable effect of SSRIs. Reduce dopamine, say Fisher and Thomson, and the possibility of love itself is reduced.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Maybe antidepressants aren’t for you, but is hormone therapy?

[From Daily Mail]

Sleeping problems such as insomnia can leave you more prone to depression, attention deficit disorder and post traumatic stress, say scientists.

Adults with depression are five times as likely to have difficulty breathing when asleep, but it had long been assumed that poor sleep was a symptom rather than a cause of the condition.

However, U.S. doctors now believe it can predispose people to mental disorders.

‘It was just so easy to say about a patient, well, he’s depressed or schizophrenic, of course he’s not sleeping well – and never to ask whether there could be a causal relationship the other way,’ says Dr Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard University.

His theory is backed by a growing number of studies into the link between disrupted sleep and mental disorders.

In 2006, Paul Peppard at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied patients with sleep-disordered breathing and placed them in four categories indicating mild to severe symptoms. He found the risk of depression doubled between each stage of severity.

Meanwhile Dr Daniel Buysse, from the University of Pittsburgh, found treating depressed patients’ sleep problems with a drug such as benzodiazepine could produce a dramatic turnaround in their mood disorder.

There is also evidence to suggest impaired sleep can induce the manic episodes suffered by people with bipolar disorder.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Being depressed might not be as – ahem – depressing as we think it is. According to scientists, being depressed occasionally is good for us, and medication might hinder our creativity!

According to a recent article in Daily Mail,

According to scientists, depression is good for us. They suggest that medicating depression as if it is a disease stops us embracing our miserable side and removes the motivation to change our lives for the better.

There are, they say, more benefits from the blues. Being sad can leave victims stronger, better able to cope with life’s challenges, and can lead to great achievements.

After all, some of the world’s greatest artists, scholars, and philosophers suffered from MAJOR depression. So if you’re feeling like you can’t shake that slump you’re in, just think – it might be the start of a a beautiful future!

[From The Frisky]

Though the stigma is lessening, men are still far more likely than women to let their depression go untreated. Blame it on Rambo, Brando, or the lure of the martini, but many guys still aren’t getting the help they need. As the traditionally stressful, dark days of winter set in, here are some signs that the guy you love might be suffering from more than a loss in fantasy football …

1. Substance Use: Has he been drinking more beer than a pledging freshman? Has his usual dinner cocktail spawned into three? Often, an increase in substance use-and this includes cigarettes, recreational drugs, and caffeine-can be a desperate attempt to self-medicate or cover up unpleasant feelings that are gnawing at him.

2. Unhealthy Eating: We all have our baked chicken days and our nachos-by-the-truckload days; such is the fluctuation of normal eating. But if you see an increasing pattern of junk food bingeing, overeating, skipping meals or loss of appetite, these disruptions-and the weight changes that go with them— can be telltale signs of stress and depression.

3. Sleeping Changes: While some depressed people want nothing more than to snooze the day away, others lie awake at all hours. A change in sleeping habits, in either direction, can sometimes be a warning that a storm is brewing.

4. Irritability: Perhaps he’s taking that cocky waiter a little too personally, or he’s road-raging like a raging bull. Though many people associate anger and irritability with anything but depression, there is real evidence that edginess and grouchiness-especially among men-can signal sadness beneath.

What are the other four tell-tale signs of a depressed mate? Click here to find out.