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Bluntly, using psychiatric medication is an indicator of mental illness. And some people judge such people very negatively, presuming they are unfit to handle
by retrac 4y ago
Bluntly, using psychiatric medication is an indicator of mental illness. And some people judge such people very negatively, presuming they are unfit to handle serious responsibility. This perspective is sometimes official; in Canada, commercial airline pilots can't take antidepressants without informing the government, and Transport Canada routinely suspends such pilots. [1] Physicians are subject to similar, if less aggressive, restrictions.
Being honest, if I found out a person has a long, serious history of depression, I would probably think they are less reliable. That is probably prejudiced. But I think that's a common attitude. If it were a position where lives or a lot of property were on the line, maybe I would think twice in hiring?
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/aviation-canada-pilots-mental-health-1.3543877 https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/aviation-canada-pilots-ment...
- siquick 4y agoYou’re in for a big surprise when you find out how many people you know take medication for their mental health.
- retrac 4y agoSure. Me! Please don't mistake this as advocating it as just. I'm just describing.
- coffeebeqn 4y agoI believe SSRIs are among the most prescribed medicine in the US. They’re certainly a blunt instrument. I’m all for MDMA or psilocybin research. From my own experience they are certainly very potent and can cause longer term changes in your mental well-being
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- ecf 4y ago> Being honest, if I found out a person has a long, serious history of depression, I would probably think they are less reliable. Being honest, I hope you never come close to managing a sizeable team. Self-admitted prejudices likes yours should never be remotely close to an authority and/or mentorship role.
- bmer 4y agoAs a person with mental health issues: people with such opinions are the vast majority, and therefore are also the majority of people managing sizeable teams. They aren't bad people, it's just how the world works. It's also how people with mental health issues judge others with mental health issues: over how productive they are. For example, you have probably heard a lot about a functional, high-achieving person with ADHD person (because they are better at self-marketing, and because others easily see their value), but probably next to nothing about the low-functioning ADHD person who may never be able to hold down a job and has a patchy career. When a high-functioning "disabled person" is campaigning for greater workplace inclusivity, for instance, they're usually campaigning for other high-functioning people, not the low-functioning ones. Functional people find low-functioning people less reliable. :( Partially because it is true, partially because it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and partially because our society worships functionality (because it's what wins resources, at the end of the day).
- vkou 4y agoMaybe they aren't bad people[1], but they are people doing a bad thing. [1] Whatever that means.
- dorkwood 4y agoI saw it as them admitting to having a psychological bias, not necessarily saying they would act on it. We all hold biases which are not arrived at through reason. It’s possible to notice one in ourselves without agreeing that it’s right.
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- crtified 4y agoPerhaps wanting control over the lives and property of others is the real mental illness, as it results in quite unreliable things happening in the world and throughout history.