It’s a great time to be in technology. And yet despite the improvement in our tools, we somehow don’t spend time talking about how to maintain our most important tool - the one between our ears. Your mental health is arguably the single most important factor in your ability to perform well, avoid burnout, and build resiliency, but we shroud the topic in secrecy, stigma, and co-opted clinical language that makes us think we know what's going on. We often don't even speak of what we feel to family and friends until we're facing a crisis.
We need to change all of that. You don't have to stay in the dark, and you *don't* have to suffer alone. In this talk we’ll start with some basics about mental health, then cover the most common mental health challenges facing developers, and then learn about some techniques to supercharge your brain by improving your mental hygiene (whether you have a psychological disorder or not). Most importantly, you’ll learn how to have a conversation with your coworkers (and other people in your life) about supporting each other and finding your best selves.
9. The Reality
What IS a mental health challenge?
The most common mental health challenges
Who is Art?
How to talk about mental health at work
Some methods for good mental hygiene
12. Changes in energy level and sleep patterns
Loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities
Difficulty with concentration or decision-making
Feeling sad, empty, hopeless, worthless, or guilty
Extreme or unusual mood swings
Feeling like your brain is playing tricks on you
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/mental-health-screening-tools
15. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE SUBSTANCE USE
NUMBERS
CDC Mental Illness Surveillance Fact Sheet (https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealthsurveillance/fact_sheet.html)
16. Mental health challenges are associated
with:
•Increased occurrence of chronic diseases
•Decreased use of medical care
(especially preventative)
•As much as a 25-year decrease in
lifespan for SPMI sufferers
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/chronic-illness-mental-health/index.shtml
17.
18. OSMI 2016 Survey General Report (https://osmi.typeform.com/report/Ao6BTw/U76z)
57. “I could really use some support. Can you
please [helpful action here]?”
OR
“I don’t know if you knew this, but I deal
with (or am having problems with) [a specific
kind of experience]. You’ve been helpful to
me in the past; would it be okay in the future
if ask you to [actionable thing] when [event
happens]?”
58. “Hey, I’ve been having a tough
time with my mood lately. If you
see me starting to isolate myself,
can you take me out for a cup of
coffee?”
59. Ideally, Jordan:
• Is clear and direct in both what they’re
asking Taylor to do, and when
asking Taylor to do it
Ideally, Taylor:
• Doesn’t problem-solve
• Doesn’t promise anything they’re
uncomfortable doing
65. “Um, you might not know this but
I deal with some mood issues…
and… I need some help telling
which emotions are real right
now.”
66. Ideally, Jordan:
• Will ask for whatever they need right now,
as specifically as possible
• Will explain that they need to leave if they
feel like they need to exit the situation
Ideally, Taylor:
• Remains calm
• Doesn’t take Jordan’s leaving as an insult
69. “I noticed that [behavioral observation
here].
Can we talk about it?”
THEN
“Do you think you could use [action
here]? Can I help provide that?”
70. “Hey, Taylor. I noticed that when
someone disagrees with you in a
meeting you stop talking and
shut down, even though you
clearly care a lot about what
you’re saying.
Would you like me to help back
you up when that happens?”
71. Ideally, Jordan:
• Accepts a “No” answer gracefully (and
doesn’t take it personally)
• Keeps their judgements and opinion out
it
Ideally, Taylor:
• Will only talk about their mental state if
they want to
• Will provide clear guidance for what
can do
73. “It seems like you’re going through
a rough moment. If you want, I can
cover for you if you need to step
out.”
74. Ideally, Jordan:
• Will keep their judgements and opinion out
of it
• Will follow the safety guidelines, unless
they’ve prearranged a support response
Taylor
Ideally, Taylor:
• Will be honest about what they need, even
if it’s nothing
• Won’t assume they’re being a waste of
77. “When [event happens], I [sometimes,
often, always] feel like [insert feelings
here]. To cope with that, I [insert
behavior here].”
78. “When I’m in a meeting and
someone asks me a question, my
brain freezes and all I can think
about is what happens if I screw
up and answer incorrectly. To
cope with that, I spend time
before the meeting obsessing
over all the things people could
ask me, so I’m not very
responsive.”
79. Ideally, Jordan:
• Will listen respectfully
• Won’t problem-solve
Ideally, Taylor:
• Will avoid blaming or ranting
• Won’t apologize for their feelings
84. Ideally, Jordan:
• Will answer as with much depth as they
feel comfortable – including not at all
Ideally, Taylor:
• Will legitimately care about how Jordan is
doing
• Will consider setting up a check-in
schedule or recurring appointment with
Jordan
86. “Hello fellow human! It is a good
day to enjoy things like oxygen
and carbon, is it not?”
“It is! Since I am also clearly a
human I too enjoy those things,
as well as making pleasant
conversation through my mouth-
parts.”
87. Ideally, Jordan:
• Will talk with Taylor like they are a fellow
human being who has varied attributes
interests
Ideally, Taylor:
• Will talk with Jordan like they are a fellow
human being who has varied attributes
interests
123. BEING ABLE TO DISCUSS ISSUES WITH
COWORKERS (AND OTHERS) IS IMPORTANT
124. ENABLE THESE DISCUSSIONS BY:
1. Using experiential language
2. Being descriptive, not prescriptive
3. Being compassionate
4. Recognizing that just because you
know for one person doesn’t mean
you know for everyone
126. • osmihelp.org
• Largest nonprofit
dedicated to mental
health in tech
• Annual survey
• Free guidebooks for
employees and HR
OPEN-SOURCING MENTAL
ILLNESS (OSMI)
127. • mentalhealthfirstaid.org
• 8 hour course
• Literally teaches first aid for
acute psychiatric symptoms
• Includes things like how to
actually ensure someone is
safe if they’re contemplating
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
TRAINING
128. • mentalhealthamerica.net
• Self-screening tools for
potential mental health
issues
• Excellent collection of
other resources to learn
about and deal with
MENTAL HEALTH
AMERICA
Sometimes they don’t quite work the way we want. When that happens we often say that there’s a “mental illness”
But often really what’s going on is that your brain is kind of fighting itself – its internal physical and psychological structures aren’t playing together nicely and we see this as behavioral symptoms
What makes all of this worse is two things: a social stigma against “crazy people”…
…. Which makes it impossible to develop an actual language to talk about our experiences.
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This means that mental health issues can come and go! i.e. episodic or chronic.
DALYs = Disability-Adjusted Life Years – the # of years lost to the illness/disability for that population
They have a lot of different names!
Ask this question out loud
The DSM V is the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”, 5th edition. It’s the Big Book of the Ways Your Brain Breaks
But it’s not focused on WHY something is happening – it’s focused on diagnostic criteria… aka, symptoms. Each diagnosis in the DSM is basically just a checklist of symptoms. If you have 5 of 8 of the symptoms, or 6 of 9, or whatever, you qualify as having the diagnosis.
And really it’s been criticized as more like a field guide to birds – something that’s more useful for categorizing and logging crazies in your spotting book than for actually helping anything
In fact, many of the more common diagnoses require the effects to have a minimum duration or intensity before the clinician can diagnose it
Some of the diagnoses are really just extensions of normal human experiences into places where they start to dramatically and negatively effect the person’s daily life
mood disorders are characterized by difficult or impossible to regulate mood
anxiety disorders are characterized by difficult or impossible to regulate anxiety
The human brain is the most complex system we’ve ever encountered
Talking about reality/truth
Clinical language seeped its way into popular culture because there was a void of any actual discussion about it
Jordan approaches Taylor
Put type descs above these slides
“I” statements
You are in control here.
Include relationships?
What feelings are happening in this moment?
What thoughts are happening in this moment?
This fits in with a lot of modern neurobiology & psychology about unconscious systems
Yeah, I know.
Basically a workbook version of figuring out what support you need and when
Not just Freud anymore
Anyone who is dealing with problems they feel are bigger than them can use therapy
It’s a whole toolbox of techniques
Add peer support