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>It’s about time that as society we open up about mental health and how to deal with our issues I've heard this over and over throughout my life, usually prese

>It’s about time that as society we open up about mental health and how to deal with our issues I've heard this over and over throughout my life, usually presented as a self-evident just-so truism. My workplace threw a mental health awareness event with a conspicuous absent of any specific persons mental health issues being discussed. I've noticed various authority figures offering to be a figure to cry on who were stoic about their own personal problems. Even this specific post is not an admission of any mental health problems, it's shaming others for blaming and bullying, and calling for society to open up. The linked post does contain a lot of opening up, but it doesn't really advocate for it and has a ton of fatalism wrapped into it . "People with issues need help" is thrown out there, yet help is a scarce resource. I see that according to every statistic, we're about as anxious and depressed and as open about mental health as we ever have been, and suicide rates have been on the rise for awhile. All I hear in response is the answer is more openness, openness will fix these problems that we're simply more aware of than in the past. I'm more inclined to believe that people who are highly open are more likely to talk about mental health issues in the first place, and their personal biases eventually start to pass as common wisdom. I can't help but reject the concept that opening up is the answer and am more drawn towards stoic views and the idea that discretion about your own difficulties can have virtues for yourself and others. I'm drawn more towards private discussions of such issues, with consideration for how such discussions may impact others and yourself as being the most socially and emotionally intelligent option.

kazinator 5y ago
> any specific persons mental health issues being discussed. Because, under what circumstances would that ever be a good idea? > I can't help but reject the concept that opening up is the answer and am more drawn towards stoic views and the idea that discretion about your own difficulties can have virtues for yourself and others. Well put.
banannaise 5y ago
I can't entirely tell whether you're missing this or simply beating around the edges of it, but: The focus on openness for mental health, to the exclusion of all other solutions, is about productivity and hierarchies. Employers and managers aren't ready for their employees to take care of their mental health. That would often involve paying for them to have better access mental health care. That would often involve them having relatively sudden and/or extended absences (followed by greatly improved health and much better productivity!) and they're not going to pay people for extended breaks. It would often involve adjustments to the way people perform work and interact with management. It would likely involve removing a lot of abusive people from management roles, since they are likely causing a lot of these mental health issues. People with authority are not prepared for a system that accommodates mental health issues in a serious way.

kazinator 5y ago

> any specific persons mental health issues being discussed. Because, under what circumstances would that ever be a good idea? > I can't help but reject the concept that opening up is the answer and am more drawn towards stoic views and the idea that discretion about your own difficulties can have virtues for yourself and others. Well put.

banannaise 5y ago

I can't entirely tell whether you're missing this or simply beating around the edges of it, but: The focus on openness for mental health, to the exclusion of all other solutions, is about productivity and hierarchies. Employers and managers aren't ready for their employees to take care of their mental health. That would often involve paying for them to have better access mental health care. That would often involve them having relatively sudden and/or extended absences (followed by greatly improved health and much better productivity!) and they're not going to pay people for extended breaks. It would often involve adjustments to the way people perform work and interact with management. It would likely involve removing a lot of abusive people from management roles, since they are likely causing a lot of these mental health issues. People with authority are not prepared for a system that accommodates mental health issues in a serious way.