Mental health is still an issue in the workplace • Hacker News Board

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#271

Post by nf05papsjfVbc » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 12:58 PM UTC

partisan wrote: post #202

extrafine wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Throwaway. My work requires a medical certificate for certain situations. No exceptions. Sometimes it's easier for me to simply turn up to work sick for a day, than try and get a cert. I'd feel worse about doing this, but I am pretty sure other people do this too. And it's an open plan office of course, so diseases just spread through the office. You should simply get a large pool of personal leave that accrues and y…

I worked for an employer who had a large percentage of union employees. All employees were held to the same rules and as a result, you could only be out sick twice in one year. The third time meant you were written up. If you were out more than a day, you had to have a doctor's note. I had a procedure done and was so terrified about the rules, I went to work. The pain was unbearable and they sent me to the on-site do…

I'm sorry you had to go through this. I do hope you are in better health now and don't have to endure this kind of an atmosphere again.

Good luck mate!

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#272

Post by inetknght » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:05 PM UTC

AlphaWeaver wrote: post #221

inetknght wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ya'll are lucky that you can afford therapy. There are many who cannot and whose insurance won't pay for it.

I believe that lack of access to mental health care is one of the fundamental problems with modern society.

I would absolutely concur.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#273

Post by nf05papsjfVbc » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:08 PM UTC

Jaruzel wrote: post #243

draw_down wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too, I also used to say "I have an appointment on Thursdays" instead of telling people I was going to the shrink. Though I'm guessing that code was not exactly impenetrable.

I did exactly the same when I was in therapy the time before last. The only person who knew where I actually was, was my Manager (and I guess HR as well) - but my team (peers and subordinates) didn't know. I felt at the time this was the correct way to handle it. Third time around in therapy (last year), I decided to be very open about my mental health, and the steps I was taking to help myself. So my emails became '…

Might I ask if the using the word 'crazy' at the end was a conscious choice? I do not wish to pry or pose a rhetorical question. I'm curious only because from the rest of the email you seem to be speaking in a dispassionate manner about the situation but that bit stood out as being different.

I could be way off the mark of course. I intend no disrespect or ill-will of any kind. I understand if you just say "None of your business" or something like that.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#274

Post by heisenbit » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:08 PM UTC

People who recognize they are having a mental health issue and are working on getting better are often not really the problem. We all wish them better.

What is a problem are people mental issues creating trouble for others. It can get compounded by bosses looking the other way as results are coming in so there is no problem. Except the costs were externalized to the team around them.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#275

Post by 0xcde4c3db » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:27 PM UTC

wu-ikkyu wrote: post #106

clfougner wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Afraid that's not true. Around 60-80% of diagnoses in primary care settings are made purely on the basis of the patient history (followed by a brief clinical examination which usually aims at eliciting subjective responses)[1]. In principle it's true that you could find a pathological explanation for all somatic ("physical") diseases which in practice are diagnosed off patient histories (with the exception of disease…

>fibromyalgia, IBS, CFS There are objective tests for all of these pathologies, though those tests are often inconclusive in the face of the symptoms. >If you don't think there's a physical basis for mental illnesses though, skim through the figures in this article[2] for a prime example of the ways modern medicine is disproving that. There are physical symptoms of mental illness, but as yet there is no proof of phys…

This is partly because when a specific physiological cause for a "mental illness" is confirmed, it usually becomes its own diagnosis in a different specialty. This happened relatively recently with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, which is believed to be responsible for some cases diagnosed as schizophrenia (and, historically, as demonic possession).

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#276

Post by etrevino » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:29 PM UTC

sgt wrote: post #270

"1 in 6 americans are medicated for mental health." - that is very high. What's causing Americans to have so many mental health issues? I don't have the stats, but I cannot easily believe that this would the case in let's say Europe.

According to [this Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/sep/05/third-europe...), a very large number of folks in Europe suffer as well. Less are treated, however.

* The study referenced also includes neurological disorders, so we do need to be careful with the article's interpretation.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#277

Post by bluGill » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:29 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #256

mahyarm wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans don't have universal healthcare, can't just go walk in some clinic / pharmacy and get a doctor / pharmacist to Rx you some birth control. You also have minimal->zero private money and come from a poor background so it's too expensive. Your parents are religious and it's difficult to privately have & use birth control. Copper IUDs create pretty bad periods and are more painful to insert if you never given bi…

I'm pretty sure that you can buy condoms in America. They're not that expensive and work reasonably well.

Last I checked condoms were the only birth control that prevents STDs. All the other birth control named is not appropriate for teens who are unlikely to have settled on a lifetime monogamous partner.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#278

Post by candu » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:29 PM UTC

exclusiv wrote: post #234

sedachv wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Note that many of the working poor got themselves into that position because of their choices, generally they had a kid at 16 and dropped out of school as a result The vast majority of teenage mothers in the United States do not choose to get pregnant and do not have the choice of terminating their pregnancy. They either do not have access to abortion providers - the majority of women in the United States do not ha…

Everyone has access to birth control though. It's common knowledge how reproduction works. You have condoms, birth control pills and copper rings among other options. If you miss that you got plan b. Let's set aside your personal vendetta against the pro lifer Christians. How can you claim that the vast majority of pregnant teenagers don't choose to get pregnant?

Easy: a lot of states teach abstinence-only sex education, and there's a prevailing set of social norms (often imposed by "pro lifer Christians") that makes frank discussions of birth control, sex, reproductive biology, etc. all but impossible. It sounds crazy - and, IMHO, it is - but large parts of the US operate as de facto theocracies, especially where it comes to education.

Under those circumstances, it's not surprising that teenagers have sex, don't know how to do so safely, and end up pregnant without meaning to. That is: a teenager absolutely can choose to have sex without choosing to get pregnant, simply because the society around them has conspired to make sure they don't understand how one leads to the other.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#279

Post by bluGill » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 1:35 PM UTC

eecc wrote: post #170

bluGill wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If his experience was anything like mine it isn't the working poor. It is the young workers who are not poor. They are still living at home: they do not need to pay for their room, meals eaten at home, health insurance. That is every penny they earn is pure spending money and so despite making minimum wage they are rich with no need to work as many hours as they do. When I was working minimum wage there was also the…

So basically you're boiling it down to sex and laying down the guilt at the feet of the healthy young adults whose behavior is all but unexpected. Wouldn't you rather call it the failure of a community - a society - to prepare its new members to the complexities of life? Oh but it's easy to climb up the high horse, brandish the sword of Morals and throw the erring off the tower (incidentally, it's the same ISIS does…

There is more than sex involved, but that was the biggest factor - at least in my experience which could well be different from typical.

I carefully avoided passing a moral judgement on their acts. However the fact is sex at 16 immediately jumps into moral issues (not just Christian - most world religions encourage marriage). I did my best those to focus on the fact that as a result of that choice they have eliminated their ability to get a head.

YOU are the one placing moral judgement on their choices and trying to make it look like my judgement.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#280

Post by etrevino » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 2:01 PM UTC

sgt wrote: post #270

"1 in 6 americans are medicated for mental health." - that is very high. What's causing Americans to have so many mental health issues? I don't have the stats, but I cannot easily believe that this would the case in let's say Europe.

Did some more research. According to the EU [1] 27.4% of the population suffered from a mental disorder in the past year. It would not surprise me to hear that two-thirds or so of those were medicated, though I haven't actually found any numbers.

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/health/archive/ph_determinants/life_styl...