#when we work

[faithpartnersassembly]

[aeramoure]

When We Work

You know, if getting help for mental health in the U.S (only 1 out of 3 people) is bad, then I guess you would know that getting accommodations in the workplace thanks to the Americans With Disabilities Act is worse.

When I was actually getting help with groups and stuff, I really saw it. Almost all of my peers there were fighting tooth and nail to even just keep their jobs. Not okay. It’s one thing to just say, “hey, I have a medical condition, can we put some safeguards in place,” and for them to understand, but its another thing to get nearly fired for saying it. Definitely not okay.

But there might be some good companies out there. Mine for sure. I take calls for mental health and substance abuse trying to help people, so I figured they would be okay with helping me stay sane trying to do my job. Heck, they even had a “mental health in the workplace” poster outside one of the supervisor’s office. So, I gathered up the courage and told them.

And it worked!

So I would say there’s a little hope. Even so, we have a double marathon of advocacy work to get there. Not fun. It’s worth it though. Definitely worth it. We should be given a chance to be able to do our jobs without fears of panic attacks that can get us fired (probably wrongly. It’s medical, after all,) or other things that aren’t good for our productivity.

So let’s fight for it. I’m willing to go for it, and I’m wondering who’s with me.

And, I’d love to hear how you deal with these things in the work place; it’s really good to get it out there, if you’d like. I would find it very interesting!

All the best,

Aeramoure

:)

from When We Work