Mental Illness & Vurnerability

Messy Humans in an Age of Clean Code

Text

The Speaker
Who the heck is this guy even?

 

The Vurnerability

Setting the stage for the discussion


The Stigma

The cost of shame
 

The Tech Industry

Mental health of those in tech industry

 

The Discussion

Making space for honest conversation

👤

🐸

👹

🤖

👂

The Speaker
Who the heck is this guy even?

 

The Vurnerability

Setting the stage for the discussion


The Stigma

The cost of shame
 

The Tech Industry

Mental health of those in tech industry

 

The Discussion

Making space for honest conversation

👤

🐸

👹

🤖

👂

The Speaker
Who the heck is this guy even?

 

The Vurnerability

Setting the stage for the discussion


The Stigma

The cost of shame
 

The Tech Industry

Mental health of those in tech industry

 

The Discussion

Making space for honest conversation

👤

🐸

👹

🤖

👂

The Speaker
Who the heck is this guy even?

 

The Vurnerability

Setting the stage for the discussion


The Stigma

The cost of shame
 

The Tech Industry

Mental health of those in tech industry

 

The Discussion

Making space for honest conversation

👤

🐸

👹

🤖

👂

The Speaker
Who the heck is this guy even?

 

The Vurnerability

Setting the stage for the discussion


The Stigma

The cost of shame
 

The Tech Industry

Mental health of those in tech industry

 

The Discussion

Making space for honest conversation

👤

🐸

👹

🤖

👂

The Disclaimers

The Disclaimers

The Disclaimers

The Disclaimers

The Disclaimers

The Disclaimers

About Me

Who the heck is this guy?

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Contract Work

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Community Involvement

ZA Tech

17 000+ Members

FEDSA

6000 + Members

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Teaching and Training

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2006 - 2010

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Open Source

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👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

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mhit.org.za

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Get in Touch

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The Advice

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The Advice

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The Advice

🐸

Eating the Dog Food

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"Eating your own dog food or “dogfooding” is the practice of using one's own products or services. [...]  he remembers is from the president of Kal Kan Pet Food, who was said to eat a can of his dog food at shareholders' meetings [...] argued that the phrase "dogfooding" was unappealing and should be replaced by "icecreaming""

Eating the Dog Food

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Inner Archeology

2014

2014

2014

🐸

Inner Archeology

2014

2014

🐸

Inner Archeology

2014

🐸

Inner Archeology

2014

🐸

"However, I'd like to let you know that I've started developing the same types of thoughts regarding my facial features/structure in January this year (for the first time at the age of 27) . I woke up one morning and realised that my smile is skew (the one corner of my mouth doesn't lift up when I smile)..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"However, I'd like to let you know that I've started developing the same types of thoughts regarding my facial features/structure in January this year (for the first time at the age of 27) . I woke up one morning and realised that my smile is skew (the one corner of my mouth doesn't lift up when I smile)..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"However, I'd like to let you know that I've started developing the same types of thoughts regarding my facial features/structure in January this year (for the first time at the age of 27) . I woke up one morning and realised that my smile is skew (the one corner of my mouth doesn't lift up when I smile)..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"However, I'd like to let you know that I've started developing the same types of thoughts regarding my facial features/structure in January this year (for the first time at the age of 27) . I woke up one morning and realised that my smile is skew (the one corner of my mouth doesn't lift up when I smile)..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"However, I'd like to let you know that I've started developing the same types of thoughts regarding my facial features/structure in January this year (for the first time at the age of 27) . I woke up one morning and realised that my smile is skew (the one corner of my mouth doesn't lift up when I smile)..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...I fell into a episode of suicidal depression - not being able to sleep/eat and being convinced that people get uncomfortable in my presence due to my distorted face. I went to a plastic surgeon and he mentioned that although I (strictly speaking) have a skew smile, it's still within the parameter of a 'normal' face, and if I had to talk to him without pointing it out he wouldn't even have noticed it..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...I fell into a episode of suicidal depression - not being able to sleep/eat and being convinced that people get uncomfortable in my presence due to my distorted face. I went to a plastic surgeon and he mentioned that although I (strictly speaking) have a skew smile, it's still within the parameter of a 'normal' face, and if I had to talk to him without pointing it out he wouldn't even have noticed it..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...I fell into a episode of suicidal depression - not being able to sleep/eat and being convinced that people get uncomfortable in my presence due to my distorted face. I went to a plastic surgeon and he mentioned that although I (strictly speaking) have a skew smile, it's still within the parameter of a 'normal' face, and if I had to talk to him without pointing it out he wouldn't even have noticed it..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...I fell into a episode of suicidal depression - not being able to sleep/eat and being convinced that people get uncomfortable in my presence due to my distorted face. I went to a plastic surgeon and he mentioned that although I (strictly speaking) have a skew smile, it's still within the parameter of a 'normal' face, and if I had to talk to him without pointing it out he wouldn't even have noticed it..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...I fell into a episode of suicidal depression - not being able to sleep/eat and being convinced that people get uncomfortable in my presence due to my distorted face. I went to a plastic surgeon and he mentioned that although I (strictly speaking) have a skew smile, it's still within the parameter of a 'normal' face, and if I had to talk to him without pointing it out he wouldn't even have noticed it..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...I fell into a episode of suicidal depression - not being able to sleep/eat and being convinced that people get uncomfortable in my presence due to my distorted face. I went to a plastic surgeon and he mentioned that although I (strictly speaking) have a skew smile, it's still within the parameter of a 'normal' face, and if I had to talk to him without pointing it out he wouldn't even have noticed it..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...I fell into a episode of suicidal depression - not being able to sleep/eat and being convinced that people get uncomfortable in my presence due to my distorted face. I went to a plastic surgeon and he mentioned that although I (strictly speaking) have a skew smile, it's still within the parameter of a 'normal' face, and if I had to talk to him without pointing it out he wouldn't even have noticed it..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...However, I kept on obsessing about it. And soon developed additional reason why my face looks strange and makes people uncomfortable (from my teeth being yellow, my features being asymmetrical, etc). I started going to a psychologist, in the hopes that he'll be able to help me either (1) see these thoughts as distortions/delusions or (2) help me accept myself/make peace with it should they be 100% true..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"... I only just started going, so I'm unable to say whether I'm actually making progress. But according to my psychologist, it's quite common for people with pre-existing social anxiety and an inclination towards low self worth to develop crippling obsessions about their appearance. I don't know the extent to which this is applicable to you..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"... I only just started going, so I'm unable to say whether I'm actually making progress. But according to my psychologist, it's quite common for people with pre-existing social anxiety and an inclination towards low self worth to develop crippling obsessions about their appearance. I don't know the extent to which this is applicable to you..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"... I only just started going, so I'm unable to say whether I'm actually making progress. But according to my psychologist, it's quite common for people with pre-existing social anxiety and an inclination towards low self worth to develop crippling obsessions about their appearance. I don't know the extent to which this is applicable to you..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"... I only just started going, so I'm unable to say whether I'm actually making progress. But according to my psychologist, it's quite common for people with pre-existing social anxiety and an inclination towards low self worth to develop crippling obsessions about their appearance. I don't know the extent to which this is applicable to you..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"... I only just started going, so I'm unable to say whether I'm actually making progress. But according to my psychologist, it's quite common for people with pre-existing social anxiety and an inclination towards low self worth to develop crippling obsessions about their appearance. I don't know the extent to which this is applicable to you..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"... I only just started going, so I'm unable to say whether I'm actually making progress. But according to my psychologist, it's quite common for people with pre-existing social anxiety and an inclination towards low self worth to develop crippling obsessions about their appearance. I don't know the extent to which this is applicable to you..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"... I only just started going, so I'm unable to say whether I'm actually making progress. But according to my psychologist, it's quite common for people with pre-existing social anxiety and an inclination towards low self worth to develop crippling obsessions about their appearance. I don't know the extent to which this is applicable to you..."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...But I think merely making the jump from 'I'm unattractive" to "I want to kill myself" is indicative of something deeper that needs to be addressed by a mental health professional."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...But I think merely making the jump from 'I'm unattractive" to "I want to kill myself" is indicative of something deeper that needs to be addressed by a mental health professional."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

"...But I think merely making the jump from 'I'm unattractive" to "I want to kill myself" is indicative of something deeper that needs to be addressed by a mental health professional."

The Post

u/broodjies
08:19AM , 28 April 2014

🐸

Why?

Since 2014

Since 2017

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Initial Response

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Initial Response

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Open Sourcing Mental Health
Mental Health in Tech Survey

Not Just Me

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Invisible World

Andrew Solomon
The Noonday Demon (1995)

"There is so much pain in the world, and most of these people keep theirs secret, rolling through agonizing lives in invisible wheelchairs, dressed in invisible bodycasts."

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Invisible World

Andrew Solomon
The Noonday Demon (1995)

"There is so much pain in the world, and most of these people keep theirs secret, rolling through agonizing lives in invisible wheelchairs, dressed in invisible bodycasts."

👹

Invisible World

Andrew Solomon
The Noonday Demon (1995)

"There is so much pain in the world, and most of these people keep theirs secret, rolling through agonizing lives in invisible wheelchairs, dressed in invisible bodycasts."

👹

Invisible World

Andrew Solomon
The Noonday Demon (1995)

"There is so much pain in the world, and most of these people keep theirs secret, rolling through agonizing lives in invisible wheelchairs, dressed in invisible bodycasts."

👹

Invisible World

Andrew Solomon
The Noonday Demon (1995)

"There is so much pain in the world, and most of these people keep theirs secret, rolling through agonizing lives in invisible wheelchairs, dressed in invisible bodycasts."

👹

The Collective Cost

👹

Aaron Swartz

👹

The Cost of Shame

Aaron Swartz

Sick (2007)

"I have a lot of illnesses. I don’t talk about it much, for a variety of reasons. I feel ashamed to have an illness. It sounds absurd, but there still is an enormous stigma around being sick."

👹

The Cost of Shame

Aaron Swartz

Sick (2007)

"I have a lot of illnesses. I don’t talk about it much, for a variety of reasons. I feel ashamed to have an illness. It sounds absurd, but there still is an enormous stigma around being sick."

👹

The Cost of Shame

Aaron Swartz

Sick (2007)

"I have a lot of illnesses. I don’t talk about it much, for a variety of reasons. I feel ashamed to have an illness. It sounds absurd, but there still is an enormous stigma around being sick."

👹

The Cost of Shame

Aaron Swartz

Sick (2007)

"I have a lot of illnesses. I don’t talk about it much, for a variety of reasons. I feel ashamed to have an illness. It sounds absurd, but there still is an enormous stigma around being sick."

👹

The Cost of Shame

Aaron Swartz

Sick (2007)

"I have a lot of illnesses. I don’t talk about it much, for a variety of reasons. I feel ashamed to have an illness. It sounds absurd, but there still is an enormous stigma around being sick."

👹

Talking About Shame

Greg Baugues

Devs and Depression (2013)

"A lot people are blaming the US Attorney for Aaron Swartz’s suicide. Their outrage is justified, but Aaron struggled with depression for many years prior to the case. If we focus only on the US Attorney, we miss an opportunity to help thousands of developers struggling with the same problem."

👹

Talking About Shame

Greg Baugues

Devs and Depression (2013)

"A lot people are blaming the US Attorney for Aaron Swartz’s suicide. Their outrage is justified, but Aaron struggled with depression for many years prior to the case. If we focus only on the US Attorney, we miss an opportunity to help thousands of developers struggling with the same problem."

👹

Talking About Shame

Greg Baugues

Devs and Depression (2013)

"A lot people are blaming the US Attorney for Aaron Swartz’s suicide. Their outrage is justified, but Aaron struggled with depression for many years prior to the case. If we focus only on the US Attorney, we miss an opportunity to help thousands of developers struggling with the same problem."

👹

Talking About Shame

Greg Baugues

Devs and Depression (2013)

"A lot people are blaming the US Attorney for Aaron Swartz’s suicide. Their outrage is justified, but Aaron struggled with depression for many years prior to the case. If we focus only on the US Attorney, we miss an opportunity to help thousands of developers struggling with the same problem."

👹

Talking About Shame

Greg Baugues

Devs and Depression (2013)

"A lot people are blaming the US Attorney for Aaron Swartz’s suicide. Their outrage is justified, but Aaron struggled with depression for many years prior to the case. If we focus only on the US Attorney, we miss an opportunity to help thousands of developers struggling with the same problem."

👹

The Work

Andrew Solomon
The Noonday Demon (1995)

"Depressed people cannot lead a revolution because depressed people can barely manage to get out of bed and put on their shoes and socks."

👹

The Work

Andrew Solomon
The Noonday Demon (1995)

"Depressed people cannot lead a revolution because depressed people can barely manage to get out of bed and put on their shoes and socks."

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What do we do?

🤖

🤖

Gregory Benford
Shipstar (2014)

"Remember that
people break down too,
not just machinery"

Commonalities

🤖

Open Sourcing Mental Health
Mental Health in Tech Survey (2020)

Human Resources

🤖

Gregory Benford
Shipstar (2014)

"Remember that
people break down too,
not just machinery"

Uptime

Yikes!

"The one-question survey had a simple "yes or no" query: "Are you currently suffering from job burnout?" Of the 11,487 users who responded, over half of respondents (57.16%, to be precise) replied "yes." Frankly, it's a mindblowing statistic"

🤖

Yikes!

"The one-question survey had a simple "yes or no" query: "Are you currently suffering from job burnout?" Of the 11,487 users who responded, over half of respondents (57.16%, to be precise) replied "yes." Frankly, it's a mindblowing statistic"

🤖

Yikes!

"The one-question survey had a simple "yes or no" query: "Are you currently suffering from job burnout?" Of the 11,487 users who responded, over half of respondents (57.16%, to be precise) replied "yes." Frankly, it's a mindblowing statistic"

🤖

Yikes!

"The one-question survey had a simple "yes or no" query: "Are you currently suffering from job burnout?" Of the 11,487 users who responded, over half of respondents (57.16%, to be precise) replied "yes." Frankly, it's a mindblowing statistic"

🤖

Yikes!

"The one-question survey had a simple "yes or no" query: "Are you currently suffering from job burnout?" Of the 11,487 users who responded, over half of respondents (57.16%, to be precise) replied "yes." Frankly, it's a mindblowing statistic"

🤖

Yikes!

"The one-question survey had a simple "yes or no" query: "Are you currently suffering from job burnout?" Of the 11,487 users who responded, over half of respondents (57.16%, to be precise) replied "yes." Frankly, it's a mindblowing statistic"

🤖

Yikes!

"The one-question survey had a simple "yes or no" query: "Are you currently suffering from job burnout?" Of the 11,487 users who responded, over half of respondents (57.16%, to be precise) replied "yes." Frankly, it's a mindblowing statistic"

🤖

🤖

Failures of Process

Failures of Process

Bolted-on

Built-in

"accessibility is not approached as a last-minute checklist of additions that are piled onto the product, but rather a set of features that are designed in place from the start [...] In many cases, accessibility is often considered only at the end of the development process, typically during quality assurance or even after launch. Resolving accessibility issues on a finished product often yields unsatisfying solutions, for the designer and the user."


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Built-in

"accessibility is not approached as a last-minute checklist of additions that are piled onto the product, but rather a set of features that are designed in place from the start [...] In many cases, accessibility is often considered only at the end of the development process, typically during quality assurance or even after launch. Resolving accessibility issues on a finished product often yields unsatisfying solutions, for the designer and the user."


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Built-in

"accessibility is not approached as a last-minute checklist of additions that are piled onto the product, but rather a set of features that are designed in place from the start [...] In many cases, accessibility is often considered only at the end of the development process, typically during quality assurance or even after launch. Resolving accessibility issues on a finished product often yields unsatisfying solutions, for the designer and the user."


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Built-in

"accessibility is not approached as a last-minute checklist of additions that are piled onto the product, but rather a set of features that are designed in place from the start [...] In many cases, accessibility is often considered only at the end of the development process, typically during quality assurance or even after launch. Resolving accessibility issues on a finished product often yields unsatisfying solutions, for the designer and the user."


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Built-in

"accessibility is not approached as a last-minute checklist of additions that are piled onto the product, but rather a set of features that are designed in place from the start [...] In many cases, accessibility is often considered only at the end of the development process, typically during quality assurance or even after launch. Resolving accessibility issues on a finished product often yields unsatisfying solutions, for the designer and the user."


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Built-in

"accessibility is not approached as a last-minute checklist of additions that are piled onto the product, but rather a set of features that are designed in place from the start [...] In many cases, accessibility is often considered only at the end of the development process, typically during quality assurance or even after launch. Resolving accessibility issues on a finished product often yields unsatisfying solutions, for the designer and the user."


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Dishwasher go brrrrrr

Shared Paths

Stress Testing

Resilience as a Quality

"accessibility is a quality—in this case, it means how easily and effectively a product or service can be accessed and used. Physical and cognitive ability occur along a spectrum. Everyone has a limit as to what they can physically accomplish and intellectually comprehend."

 


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Resilience as a Quality

"accessibility is a quality—in this case, it means how easily and effectively a product or service can be accessed and used. Physical and cognitive ability occur along a spectrum. Everyone has a limit as to what they can physically accomplish and intellectually comprehend."

 


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Resilience as a Quality

"accessibility is a quality—in this case, it means how easily and effectively a product or service can be accessed and used. Physical and cognitive ability occur along a spectrum. Everyone has a limit as to what they can physically accomplish and intellectually comprehend."

 


                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Widen the Conversation

Wikipedia

Occupation Burnout

"A growing body of evidence suggests that burnout is etiologically, clinically, and nosologically similar to depression. In a study that directly compared depressive symptoms in burned out workers and clinically depressed patients, no diagnostically significant differences were found between the two groups; burned out workers reported as many depressive symptoms as clinically depressed patients."

🤖

Widen the Conversation

Wikipedia

Occupation Burnout

"A growing body of evidence suggests that burnout is etiologically, clinically, and nosologically similar to depression. In a study that directly compared depressive symptoms in burned out workers and clinically depressed patients, no diagnostically significant differences were found between the two groups; burned out workers reported as many depressive symptoms as clinically depressed patients."

🤖

Widen the Conversation

Wikipedia

Occupation Burnout

"A growing body of evidence suggests that burnout is etiologically, clinically, and nosologically similar to depression. In a study that directly compared depressive symptoms in burned out workers and clinically depressed patients, no diagnostically significant differences were found between the two groups; burned out workers reported as many depressive symptoms as clinically depressed patients."

🤖


Resources

Sadag.org

👂

OsmiHelp.org

👂

Therapist-Directory.co.za

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Student Internships

👂

CrisisTextLine.org

👂

7cups.org

👂

MentalPod.com

👂

#mental-health

👂

zatech.co.za

slides.com/schalkventer

👂

mhit.org.za

👂

Questions & Discussion

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