
Depression Far Too Common Among Tech Pros: Survey - z0a
https://insights.dice.com/2018/12/05/depression-tech-pros-common-study/
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cityzen
WTF is a "tech pro". Lots of people are depressed, we are living through some
wild times right now. Part of the problem is that it is a pain in the ass to
find a therapist and many don't accept insurance:

If a patient’s insurance company finds a reason why it shouldn’t pay for
treatment, the psychiatrist cannot bill the patient separately. The time spent
seeing that patient is a sunk cost.

For all of these reasons, therapists make patients pay out of pocket. But,
this means that many potential patients can’t afford treatment. In 2011, a
report (pdf) from the US Department of Health and Human Services found that of
the 45.6 million American adults with any kind of mental health illness, fewer
than half received treatment. The most widely cited reason for not seeking
treatment was that—insurance or not—patients couldn’t afford it.

From: [https://qz.com/684475/theres-a-reason-its-so-hard-to-
find-a-...](https://qz.com/684475/theres-a-reason-its-so-hard-to-find-a-
therapist-who-takes-insurance/)

Granted, these are "tech pros" so I think they probably can afford it but you
never know. Spending an extra $400+ a month on therapy is a lot for most
people, even "tech pros".

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dragonsky
I find it amazing that you seem to assume that "therapy" is a given necessity
and this is some how acceptable.

I live in a society where there is still a stigma (unfortunately) around
mental health issues. The down side of this is that many people who could
benefit from assistance from a mental health professional don't seek
assistance. The up side, is that because issues such as depression and
excessive stress are not seen as normal or good, there is a lot of pressure on
employees to ensure that their work places promote mental (and physical)
health, and they are held to account if this is not the case.

If there was an industry where there was found to be a very high proportion of
workers suffering injury that resulted in legs being amputated, our first
reaction would not be to ensure that the workers had access to inexpensive
artificial limbs. There would be an outcry, the cause of the injuries would be
identified and laws put in place ensuring that the offending work practice was
illegal.

I beg forgiveness for this example from the many military personal who have
lost limbs in the service of their countries, but I believe my analogy stands,
even the military makes every attempt to ensure their troops don't walk down a
mined road without protection.

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dasm
I agree that prevention is the best method. For many people, therapy is more
like basic self-care (ie, brushing your teeth) than a new limb. There are a
great number of experiences that can batter us emotionally, and we can access
therapy now while we work to fix these societal problems.

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dasm
I agree that prevention is the best method. For many people, therapy is more
like basic self-care (ie, brushing your teeth) than a new limb. There are a
great number of experiences that can batter us emotionally, and we can access
therapy now while we work to fix these societal problems.

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brad0
I’m concerned that this is partly due to selection bias. Blind is an app where
people go to complain about their work.

