6 ms·

My only issue with this is how he seems to lump in the "mental health" days that people without diagnosed mental health disorders face with the stigmatization t

My only issue with this is how he seems to lump in the "mental health" days that people without diagnosed mental health disorders face with the stigmatization that the other group feels. I fully support people who need to deal with mental fatigue in these ways, but if just taking time off "cures" your mental health issues, it's a different class of problem from what others are dealing with. The "still" is incredibly premature when it comes to mental health in the workplace. We're just scratching the surface when it comes to acknowledging, accepting and understanding those with mental health disorders. Depression, ADHD and even Autism Spectrum and OCD are all on the leading edge of disorders that are receiving less stigmatization and more acceptance over time. But there's a lot more in the DSM-V that are completely misunderstood or completely unpublicized. And our workplaces are completely unprepared to deal with them. I saw this first hand at my previous employer. We had a coworker who had a number of personal disagreements with other coworkers. In discussing it with my mother, a psychologist, she mentioned that much of his behavior sounded, to her, like someone with Borderline Personality Disorder. He was everyone's best friend up until they did anything he interpreted as being against him at which point he'd flip and try to sabotage them at every opportunity, including filing numerous baseless claims with HR. The organization was completely unprepared to deal with an individual like him. Each HR claim he filed was treated seriously, but there was never encouragement or a requirement that he talk to a trained mental health professional who could have been helped guide the company to a productive outcome. Instead, his conflicts with other employees caused at least 3 of them to quit before he was eventually forced out of the company for taking on someone who had too much pull with upper management. I can only imagine the carnage that would have been caused if he had been a she and had been able to abuse the sexual harassment policies. HR is only trained to help the company avoid getting sued. But there's damage to both the employee and the company that can happen without the lawyers getting involved. The company's HR failed him and the rest of us that had to work with him by not knowing how to deal with that sort of psychological disorder. Rather than "it's 2017 and mental health is still an issue," I'd say, "it's 2017 and we're finally starting to acknowledge the long road ahead of us."

aaron-lebo 9y ago
You are very very right. When people have disorders like you list they are disabling. That's expensive for the worker and the employer and ultimately our social systems but it's just kind of expected that those people are forgotten with no resources but their own to cope. That's a horrible broken system. What scares me is the undiagnosed (as you pointed out). There's way too many people in public perception that when analyzed closely have some kind of personality disorder. Not to play psychobabble but way too often these disorders are recognized for the success they provide but the destructive aspects are ignored. Some of these people have been so successful that they'll die untreated and it's a loss for them and everyone else. Jobs had something wrong with him that he appears to have recognized and mitigated over time. Trump has something wrong with him, he'll never get treated. There are some other popular figures that are less controversial but in the same boat. Straight up sociopathic behavior that is applauded until enough people get hurt. Then you've got the unsuccessful delusional people who end up committing mass murder. How many shootings and terrorist attacks could have been prevented through relatively cheap mental healthcare? It seems like an obvious weak point in society that we don't really address. Worse, you gotta wonder if social media is exacerbating it in some people. It's easy to become a delusional narcissist these days. Maybe it always has been?
- curun1r 9y ago
  > Trump has something wrong with him, he'll never get treated A bit off-topic, but in case you're interested in that 'something', here's one analysis from a psychologist that made the rounds of liberal psychologists that my mother associates with: http://www.nationalmemo.com/psychoanalyzing-donald-trump/ http://www.nationalmemo.com/psychoanalyzing-donald-trump/
  - aaron-lebo 9y ago
    That was really interesting, thanks.
  - pdeuchler 9y ago
    Please stop sharing that tripe. The author himself admits it's horribly unethical and overwhelmingly likely to be entirely wrong in the very first paragraph, but somehow justifies his continued speculation because a random group of peers (as if these peers being located within the grounds of Yale for a conference gives them some sort of authority) decided it was okay this one time because they don't like the subject in question. If you truly care about creating political change and/or defeating Trump you'll focus on policies that the majority of the electorate are willing to vote for instead of sharing feel good tabloid pablum to justify your superiority complex.
MadSax 9y ago
When I worked for a large bank right out of college, they had buckets of planned time off and a smaller subset of unplanned days you could use. They didn't care why you used your unplanned time off and one my bosses even told us to use them all even if it wasn't for sickness, just use them.
Osmium 9y ago
> like someone with Borderline Personality Disorder A small note that borderline personality disorder, like many mental disorders, is a complex condition. Specifically, a person must meet 5 of 9 diagnostic criteria in the DSM to be diagnosed with BPD; since they can meet any 5 of those 9, this means that many individuals with BPD can present very differently. This is a weakness of the DSM. BPD specifically is problematic: it has only been well understood in the last few decades, and has an undeserved reputation due to media portrayals. Even the name is controversial, with the 'borderline' name a throwback to the very early days of psychiatry. Alternative names like "emotional dysregulation disorder" are now commonly preferred to avoid these associations. All this to say: while the OP's experiences are valid, care must be taken not to generalize behavior from one person with a disorder to other people with the same disorder. This is how stigmas arise. [Disclaimer: not a professional, have just read a little on these matters and, like many of us in this thread, have known people who struggle with mental illness.]

aaron-lebo 9y ago

You are very very right. When people have disorders like you list they are disabling. That's expensive for the worker and the employer and ultimately our social systems but it's just kind of expected that those people are forgotten with no resources but their own to cope. That's a horrible broken system. What scares me is the undiagnosed (as you pointed out). There's way too many people in public perception that when analyzed closely have some kind of personality disorder. Not to play psychobabble but way too often these disorders are recognized for the success they provide but the destructive aspects are ignored. Some of these people have been so successful that they'll die untreated and it's a loss for them and everyone else. Jobs had something wrong with him that he appears to have recognized and mitigated over time. Trump has something wrong with him, he'll never get treated. There are some other popular figures that are less controversial but in the same boat. Straight up sociopathic behavior that is applauded until enough people get hurt. Then you've got the unsuccessful delusional people who end up committing mass murder. How many shootings and terrorist attacks could have been prevented through relatively cheap mental healthcare? It seems like an obvious weak point in society that we don't really address. Worse, you gotta wonder if social media is exacerbating it in some people. It's easy to become a delusional narcissist these days. Maybe it always has been?

curun1r 9y ago
> Trump has something wrong with him, he'll never get treated A bit off-topic, but in case you're interested in that 'something', here's one analysis from a psychologist that made the rounds of liberal psychologists that my mother associates with: http://www.nationalmemo.com/psychoanalyzing-donald-trump/ http://www.nationalmemo.com/psychoanalyzing-donald-trump/
- aaron-lebo 9y ago
  That was really interesting, thanks.
- pdeuchler 9y ago
  Please stop sharing that tripe. The author himself admits it's horribly unethical and overwhelmingly likely to be entirely wrong in the very first paragraph, but somehow justifies his continued speculation because a random group of peers (as if these peers being located within the grounds of Yale for a conference gives them some sort of authority) decided it was okay this one time because they don't like the subject in question. If you truly care about creating political change and/or defeating Trump you'll focus on policies that the majority of the electorate are willing to vote for instead of sharing feel good tabloid pablum to justify your superiority complex.

MadSax 9y ago

When I worked for a large bank right out of college, they had buckets of planned time off and a smaller subset of unplanned days you could use. They didn't care why you used your unplanned time off and one my bosses even told us to use them all even if it wasn't for sickness, just use them.

Osmium 9y ago

> like someone with Borderline Personality Disorder A small note that borderline personality disorder, like many mental disorders, is a complex condition. Specifically, a person must meet 5 of 9 diagnostic criteria in the DSM to be diagnosed with BPD; since they can meet any 5 of those 9, this means that many individuals with BPD can present very differently. This is a weakness of the DSM. BPD specifically is problematic: it has only been well understood in the last few decades, and has an undeserved reputation due to media portrayals. Even the name is controversial, with the 'borderline' name a throwback to the very early days of psychiatry. Alternative names like "emotional dysregulation disorder" are now commonly preferred to avoid these associations. All this to say: while the OP's experiences are valid, care must be taken not to generalize behavior from one person with a disorder to other people with the same disorder. This is how stigmas arise. [Disclaimer: not a professional, have just read a little on these matters and, like many of us in this thread, have known people who struggle with mental illness.]