Irish men are been urged to be vigilant for signs of depression ahead of the upcoming Men's Health Week.

The theme of this year's event is ‘Promoting and supporting the health and well being in men and boys during challenging times'.

According to the Irish College of Psychiatry of Ireland, men need to watch out for symptoms of the disease which they outline as feeling unhappy, miserable, down or depressed.

"Men need to pay attention to signs of depression. It is recognized that in the current recession, men are more likely than women to lose their jobs and it has long been recognized that, for men, work and relationships are the key factors in maintaining good mental health," the college explained.

Experts from the college said that many people who are experiencing depression do not recognize what they are going through as a condition.

"This is not a sign of weakness. It can affect anyone and many well known and successful men have experienced episodes of depression," the college said.

The warning comes in the wake of a report from Unicef Ireland which claims that half of Irish teenagers have experienced depression and a quarter have felt suicidal.

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