September 20, 2007 - by Paul Warwick
Research is getting me down
We've been doing quite a bit of research recently for a pharmaceutical client. These are always great projects to do, because they really blur the lines between research sessions and 'therapy' sessions. It often makes me think about how wierd respondents are and what kind of a person would sign up to forfeit their evenings in return for $75 and some stale sandwiches.
One of the most interesting things about the project was the volume of (off topic) spontaneous discussion about depression.
Specifically male depression. Men openly talking about themselves, and wives openly sharing their concerns about their husbands.
This might have triggered something in me because it also coincided with the beginning of the rugby world cup, which has been accompanied by a lot of coverage about how the current Japan coach and former world-cup-winning All Black John Kirwan has suffered from the condition- he is now the public face of an advertising campaign in New Zealand. I think there's more to it, though.
It's easy to draw cultural stereotypes about the Australian way of life and to talk about men not having the emotional support network that women have always had. It's also easy to look at the changing roles within society, where service-led economies put a premium on the more 'feminine' relationship skills and 'emotional intelligence' and think that it must be quite a difficult adjustment to make for men brought up within a strong manufacturing, mining and labouring economy. Equally neither of those may be any more than a red herring.
One thing I do think is true is that this problem is significant and is becoming more so.
Curently the most prescribed drugs in Australia are for cardio-vascular and related issues. Over the next 10 years, it wouldn't surprise me if anti-depressants stepped up to join them.
There's a fantastic job that communications could do to help with this situation. Sadly, when it happens, I don't think that campaign will be a government initiative, it'll come from one of the drug companies.