Mental Illness and Disability

the Week of August 11, 2014
Atmospheric photo of the water, a duck faintly visible in the dim, and a bright light looming on the left.

We have articles on how the stigma of mental illness manifests unfairly at work, Autistics in Silicon Valley, and ADHD and recreational use of Adderall in tech. We explore mental illness and social media, discuss mental health in abusive workplaces, and examine initiatives within the industry to build awareness and empathy around mental illness. New authors tell their stories, covering suicide and shame, depression and the risks of being out, and the harmful pressures of tech culture at every level. Header image CC-BY Dirk Duckhorn, cropped and filtered.

 

A hand holding a ball.

Talking About Mental Illness

Stigma, privilege, and mental health.

A photo of sketches on slightly crumpled notebook paper. At the bottom, it shows an image of an eye within a circle, on top of which is a crown. At the top, a circle with two lines at a crossroads within it is adorned with textured wings and a crown. Sketches on the other side of the paer are dimly visible through the page.

Mental Illness In The Workplace: Are You Being Served?

Support staff are often expected to respect the states of our more privileged and powerful co-workers, yet our own frailties, states of depression, or anxiety are seen as not deserving of care and accommodation.

A pile of golden, generic tokens.

How Far to Fall

Forcing people to live in fear shows nothing but a cruel disregard of their lives.

Rows and rows of desks set up in a large auditorium.

The Pressures of Success in Undergraduate Computer Science Programs

There is a major problem with the education system.

A bike lane in an empty street.

“Brilliance,” “Pride” and “Genius”: How Tech Culture Hides Mental Illness

I can lie to doctors in order to get out of a frightening psych ward, but I can’t lie to myself anymore.

A bunch of empty wine bottles on shelves with a brick background.

Don’t Ignore the Fire Burning Your House: Mental Illness and Working in Tech

I was so used to being screamed at, ignored and debased that I thought it was normal.

Close-up of an Adderall pill.

Adderall Has a Tech Industry Problem

No amount of life hacks can train you out of having ADHD.

This issue is made possible in part by some of our generous readers: Ian Connolly, Lin Clark, Natalia Burina,Aaron Sarazan, Graydon Hoare, Christian Müller, Felipe Laso Marsetti and Alice Boxhall.