“Irritable Male Syndrome”
Disclosure: I am not compensated by or affiliated with Mr. Diamond’s Organization. Jed Diamond takes a holistic approach to a seeping epidemic with “The Irritable Male Syndrome: Managing the Four Key Causes of Male Depression.” Rather than a predictable direction of “this is IMS, here’s how you get rid of it,” Diamond discusses all factors surrounding and contributing to the irritable male syndrome (IMS.) Diamond’s book deals not only with IMS, but with life transitions and how men’s social roles form and evolve. Diamond urges an examination of the biological and social context of men, including the upbringing of boys and their initiation into manhood. Stress, biological changes, and perpetual devaluation of men is feeding a growing infestation of irritable male syndrome and breeding a new generation of irritable males. Read more
How Drug Companies Communicate Information with You
I’ve been hearing some talk in the drug industry about how they desire to better communicate with patients and consumers. I’ve also become aware of some companies exploring blogs as a way to reach consumers and market to them.
I’m quite wary of these types of approaches - but I have a personal interest in this because I blog here, and having an emergence of “marketing” blogs or worse - splogs (spam blogs) will only hurt the credibility of blogs in general.
That said, I’m wondering how you’d want drug companies to communicate information with you as a patient. What should they do to make you believe that the information they have presented to you is “fair balanced” and is not a promotional spin?
If you have any thoughts or ideas on this, please comment here or please email me at mhsourcepage@gmail.com .
National Depression Week (U.K.)
For my U.K. friends, last week (April 17-23) was National Depression Week 2006 per Depression Alliance, UK’s leading charity for people who suffer from depression.
The theme this year was complementary therapies, based on queries the organization received from people interested in self-help treatment and complementary treatments with their depression therapies.
The website also has a nice alert for those considering St. John’s Wort, and what precautions people must take when considering self-medicating with this herb.
For my Canadian friends, May 1-7 will be Mental Health week across Canada. Please check for updates under Canadian Mental Health Association’s website, in the section titled, “Media & Events.”