Men Don’t ‘Get’ Depression - Report

A new study has found a majority of Australian men have “incorrect” and “critical” perceptions of mental health.

The biennial ‘depression monitor’ survey by Beyondblue, the national depression initiative, showed men’s attitudes toward depression and anxiety are discriminatory, negative, and discourage people from seeking assistance.

The results showed 27 per cent of men thought people with depression could not hold down responsible jobs and 31 per cent of men believed that people with depression should “just pull themselves together,” according to the study.

Other results included:

• Almost 30 per cent of men thought people with severe depression should be able to cope on their own
• Almost half felt that depressed people should not be considered for a job promotion
• 10 per cent believed that depressed people should be screened out of the employment selection process
• In each of these survey questions, men responded in a less sympathetic and more stigmatising manner than women

Beyondblue CEO Kate Carnell announced the organisation has released its first ever online awareness campaign aimed at encouraging men who may have depression or anxiety to seek help.

“The digital campaign has more than 100 advertisements placed with google, each relating to the most commonly searched terms around anxiety and depression.

‘With this kind of market penetration, we hope to capture a wide range of men who traditionally search for help regarding their mental health via the internet,” Carnell said.

The study was released to coincide with Men’s Health Week.