Sure, and I think that's well-acknowledged. Yes, we need to beat the stigma. However, that's not going to cure these illnesses. It'll just give people who have them a fair chance to recover. It's just one step, but it's an important one. For people in the mild-moderate stretch of the spectrum, the worst thing about these diseases (I'm bipolar) is that people kick you when you're down.
There is no evidence to suggest that the software industry suffers disproportionately from mental health issues compared to any other.
I don't know if we have a higher incidence of these problems (although it wouldn't surprise me) but we suffer in some unique ways. First, many of us work in open-plan offices. That's already unhealthy. But consider further that it takes a bit of an obsessive nature to get good at what we do. We genuinely want to do our jobs well, and get frustrated (and measurably anxious) when impeded. An open-plan environment that makes concentration impossible can be hell for a person like that.
Then add the "Agile" micromanagement, which is really just designed to put people on a treadmill and shoot the people who (for whatever reason) can't keep pace. Now, added to the existing risk of having a bad week is anxiety about having a bad week.
We've let The Business treat us like garbage, and the result is that we're constantly insulted with bad working conditions, micromanagement, low autonomy and deeply punitive environments. Some people can laugh this off, and many more of us get cynical with time, but the obsessively inclined people who tend to become programmers don't do so as easily, because they care deeply about doing their jobs well and then get handed an environment that makes it impossible.
THERE IS NO QUICK FIX.
Sure, and I think that's well-acknowledged. Yes, we need to beat the stigma. However, that's not going to cure these illnesses. It'll just give people who have them a fair chance to recover. It's just one step, but it's an important one. For people in the mild-moderate stretch of the spectrum, the worst thing about these diseases (I'm bipolar) is that people kick you when you're down.
There is no evidence to suggest that the software industry suffers disproportionately from mental health issues compared to any other.
I don't know if we have a higher incidence of these problems (although it wouldn't surprise me) but we suffer in some unique ways. First, many of us work in open-plan offices. That's already unhealthy. But consider further that it takes a bit of an obsessive nature to get good at what we do. We genuinely want to do our jobs well, and get frustrated (and measurably anxious) when impeded. An open-plan environment that makes concentration impossible can be hell for a person like that.
Then add the "Agile" micromanagement, which is really just designed to put people on a treadmill and shoot the people who (for whatever reason) can't keep pace. Now, added to the existing risk of having a bad week is anxiety about having a bad week.
We've let The Business treat us like garbage, and the result is that we're constantly insulted with bad working conditions, micromanagement, low autonomy and deeply punitive environments. Some people can laugh this off, and many more of us get cynical with time, but the obsessively inclined people who tend to become programmers don't do so as easily, because they care deeply about doing their jobs well and then get handed an environment that makes it impossible.