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Real Men, Real Depression
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In spring 2003, the National Institute of Mental Health launched the first national public health education campaign designed to reach men with depression, entitled “Real Men, Real Depression.” The campaign materials feature personal stories of men who live with depression: a firefighter, a national diving champion, a retired Air Force sergeant, a lawyer, a publisher and a college student. The primary message of the public service announcements and brochures is that it takes courage to ask for help, and that depression is treatable. The campaign aims to educate, reduce stigma and encourage men to seek treatment.
The U-M campaign featured a dedicated hotline staffed by PES; student consultation with PES; a dedicated U-M Mental Health website; an evaluation component; and perhaps most importantly, a U-M student featured in the campaign materials. Materials were displayed in high-traffic areas such as athletic facilities, student unions and campus bus stops, and public service announcement ads were run on closed-circuit televisions in the residence halls. Students overwhelmingly agreed that the campaign was a valuable informational tool and that U-M’s participation in the initiative sent a strong anti-stigma message. For more information about the U-M campaign, please visit the Depression Center Web site, www.depressioncenter.org, or visit www.nimh.nih.gov for more information on the national campaign.
Andrew Solomon: A Personal Reflection Andrew Solomon is an author, mental health advocate and member of the Depression Center National Advisory Board. Mr. Solomon’s book, “The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression,” won the 2001 National Book Award. Depression is extremely stressful and keeping secrets is extremely taxing. Men who are depressed are likely to experience their depression in isolation, which escalates the complaint. Though the rate of depression is higher for women than for men, the rate of suicide is higher for men than for women, and this is at least in part because men don’t get the help and support they need. Destigmatizing male depression should be a top national priority. I have been lucky to have my depressions while living in the accepting climate of New York with the forgiving job of being a writer; for many men, tolerance is elusive and the pressures of supporting a family are direly urgent. Even so, the depression was an exercise in despair purer than I had ever known could exist, and I barely made it through. If I had sought help sooner, I would have made it through better. And perhaps if social attitudes changed, I and other men would be able to avoid, or at least better tolerate, some of this acute anguish.
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In February 2005, the Depression Center and its University of Michigan partners became the first university to specifically tailor the “Real Men, Real Depression” campaign to college students, and to implement the initiative on a college campus. This three-month outreach effort was a collaboration between the University of Michigan Division of Student Affairs, the Depression Center and the NIMH. Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, associate dean of students, also involved other key partners including students, Counseling and Psychological Services, University Health Services, University Housing, and Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) in order to effectively reach the entire University community. 
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