HEALTH SURVEY - Editorial

According to the 23 year old Australian Temprement Project... and here's the scary bit, FINANCED FEDERALLY...... One in 5 of aussies in their mid 20's has a major mental or physical problem. Two in five of the same age group suffer depression, anxiety, take illegal drugs or engage in risky social behaviour.. That's a whopping 40% of all Australians in their mid-20's.

Let's assume, for a moment, that this survey is correct. It's saying that 40% of this younger generation are somehow limited in their life by depression, anxiety, illegal drugs, major physical problems or risky social behaviour?? If this remarkable figure WERE true the next generation of business, community and political leaders would a sad lot indeed. Australia's future would be devastated by a bunch of lethargic, depressed, drug-addled misfits.

Let's get a grip on this for a moment. This younger generation - the subject of this long-term survey of 2400 young people from birth to their mid-twenties - have lived in the most prosperous couple of decades in Australia's history. They haven't had to go to war, they haven't had their Vietnam or WWII. They haven't lived through a depression or even a recession. They are better educated, have a longer projected life-span of any generation, they have less unemployment, greater access to health services, a better understanding of diet and they never had to endure Ernie Sigley on TV. So, what in earth have 40% of our younger Australians got to be depressed and anxious about? And when it comes to drug use... no one asked them to stick a needle in their arm, snort some white powder or pop a pill. But then again, some of these drug issues may explain the study's other perplexing claim... the anti-social behaviour.

Dianne Smart, the researcher quoted in the media reporting on this survey says....

"In the 1960s and '70s, most young people had settled into stable careers, married, and become parents by their mid-20s. Nowadays, this is the exception rather than the norm." OK, happy to accept that but it doesn't go even a part of the way into explaining all the angst and depression. And what are they terming anxiety and depression? Is their iPod battery flat? Or did Mum and Dad buy the 32" LCD panel TV rather than the 52" one? Of course, many of them are still at home in their mid-20's these days with the realities of life still ahead of them. Things like paying rent, a mortgage, insurance and doing their own laundry are still years away for many of them.

Now, I know I'm falling into the generation gap here but, really.... how could our society operate if, indeed, 4 out of 10 of every young Australian was a dysfunctional, depressive, anxious, anti-social cot case. It wouldn't and the claims of this study make a mockery of the funding provided and the obvious social cohesion we see around us everyday. If this study were right we would all be locked inside trying to avoid these social lepers soaking up our tax-paying dollars with their alleged issues.

I should explain that I have a lot of sympathy for those suffering depression... I have had 2 partners with chronic depression and it is an awful issue to cope with. But I can assure you that people suffering depression, real depression, are the exception and not the rule. In this case the media was simply reporting the results of the study. Thankfully a lot of the commentators on radio got stuck into this report and brought a bit of balance to this statistical drivel.

Finally, just bringing this back to home for a sec... a young person who may be fighting issues with their sexuality, today, in their early 20's is a thousand times better off than they would have been 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. Of course there are still issues but places like JOY, a more tolerant media and maturing social values are making it a MUCH easier ride for younger people than in the past.

It's hard to dispute a well-funded, well-resourced survey like this. But I suspect that the young people's perception of what anxiety and depression are, are completely misjudged and that the truth is that most of us have simply never had it so good.