Proposed: Mental health BoF

Chris Weyl cweyl at alumni.drew.edu
Sun Jun 2 11:02:05 PDT 2013


On Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 7:52 AM, Matthew Harris <admin at mattharris.org> wrote:

> I would like to talk about:
>
> If mental health is a disease or is it actually a learned behavior.
> Basic nature vs nurture discussion
>

I think that's a separate discussion, one I'm happy to let the AMA and the
folks who put the DSM together handle :)

I think what Rick and Duke are talking about is "how do we manage mental
health issues when working in a field that depends ~100% on our brain?"[1]
Given the stigma still surrounding mental health and how much of an impact
it can have on work and life, I think it's an excellent BoF suggestion.

For instance: How many of us get migraines and lose afternoons or entire
days to them, and how many think a couple tylenol will "make it better"?
How many of us are fighting with serious, clinical depression, have at one
point, or know (and maybe lost) people with it?  How many of us have felt
crippled with anxiety over work projects or life issues?  OCD?  ADHD?
Bipolar?

How do we create supportive workplaces that both allow us to support and
maintain our mental health goals and those of others, while still getting
the job done?  What do we need to do to make these things complimentary,
not competing, ends?

The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is a powerful tool and covers
some of these (e.g. migraines), but people cannot and will not get the
support and help they need if they feel stigmatized.  That can only change
when *we* change, and accept that not all personalities and brains work the
same way, even our own... and that's OK.

                                -Chris

[1] And wicked vim skills, of course.  Just saying.

-- 
Chris Weyl
Ex astris scientia
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