The open source talk that changed my life wasn’t technical

The first PHP conference I ever went to changed my life. I saw Ed Finkler talking about his struggles with mental health issues. I related so well with everything he said and was shocked to find out not everyone feels this way. Come learn about Open Sourcing Mental Illness, a nonprofit built on a movement of changing how we talk about mental health in the tech community. We’ll talk about survey results from multiple years of OSMI’s Mental Health In Tech surveys showing how employees feel about discussing mental health issues with employers and coworkers.

We’ll talk about resources, where and how to find help. The most important thing is to know you’re not alone.

Transcript

1. The open source talk that
   changed my life wasn't technical
   Joe Ferguson
   May 19th 2018
   

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2. Who Am I?
   Joe Ferguson
   PHP Developer
   PHP Architect @ Ministry Brands
   Twitter: @JoePFerguson
   OSMI Board Member
   Drone Racing Pilot
   

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3. Awkward Audience
   Participation Time
   

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4. A little about me
   

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5. Depression
   

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6. Anxiety
   

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7. ADHD
   

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8. I take meds
   

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9. Every Day Occurrence
   

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10. Sometimes it’s awesome
    

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11. Sometimes it’s terrible
    

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12. Worldwide
    

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13. W.H.O. Study
    Global Burden of Disease
    

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14. http://www.who.int/
    healthinfo/
    global_burden_disease
    

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15. Burden of Mental Disorders is the
    largest of all categories in North
    America
    (W.H.O. 2008)
    

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16. Greater than
    Cardiovascular Disease
    (W.H.O. 2008)
    

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17. Greater than Cancer
    (W.H.O. 2008)
    

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18. “In all regions, neuropsychiatric
    conditions are the most important
    causes of disability, accounting for
    around one third of Years Lost to
    Disability among adults aged 15
    years and over”
    (W.H.O. 2008)
    

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19. 1/3 of every year lost to disability
    

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20. Looking at the Tech Community
    

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21. Basically No Research
    

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22. We started doing research
    

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23. /dev/hell Episode 15
    

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24. 2013 - in the beginning…
    

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25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tlblen66FE
    

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26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHX9-B06g-Y
    

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27. My First PHP Conference
    https://tek14.phparch.com/
    

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28. Mental Health Summit
    https://tek14.phparch.com/mental-health-summit/
    

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29. Crowdfunding
    

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30. Making it official…
    

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31. Mental Health in Tech
    2016 Survey
    US non-self employed only as of 11/16/16
    osmihelp.org/research
    

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32. Do you think that discussing a health issue with your
    employer would have negative consequences?
    Mental
    Physical
    

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33. Would you bring up a health issue
    with a potential employer in an
    interview?
    Mental
    Physical
    

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34. Does your employer provide resources to learn more about mental
    health issues and how to seek help?
    

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35. Do you feel that being identified as
    a person with a mental health
    issue would hurt your career?
    

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36. Have you been diagnosed with a
    mental health condition?
    

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37. Sick workers don’t work
    

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38. Why should we talk about
    Mental Health?
    

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39. Mental wellness leads to better
    employees
    

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40. -Greg Baugues
    “We talk about 10x developers as being a
    fairy tale, but you take a developer with
    crippling depression, get them to the right
    treatment, and they will literally be 10x
    more productive.”
    

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41. Change is hard,
    and usually slow
    

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42. OSMI Handbooks
    

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43. Speak openly about mental
    health
    

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44. Tell people they matter
    

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45. Numbers tell us facts;
    Stories tell us why we care
    

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46. - Stories from Developers
    “It really sucks to have a brain that wants to continually
    sabotage you and keeps you from reaching your potential.”
    

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47. - Stories from Developers
    “I always want to go out and meet others in the development
    field, but I can't get myself to go to any of the meetups or
    conferences. I'd gone to one day conference but was too
    nervous to talk with any of the other attendees. I left feeling
    like an idiot for not introducing myself to anyone.”
    

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48. - Stories from Developers
    “I deal with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and take the same
    meds you do. I first noticed this condition as a teenager, and
    I'm almost 30 now. I'm still incredibly embarrassed about the
    condition and most likely will not tweet about this topic out
    of pure shame, unfortunately.”
    

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49. Communities are about people
    

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50. Communities are about people
    Not Code
    

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51. Suffering in Silence
    Our Community
    Our Colleagues
    Our Friends
    Our People
    

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52. Sometimes they disappear
    

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53. Only fear allows this
    

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54. Stronger Than Fear
    

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55. What can you do?
    Talk to your friends, colleagues
    Share the OSMI handbooks, message
    Tell people they matter, speak openly
    Get certified in mental health first aid
    

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56. Joe Ferguson
    Twitter: @JoePFerguson
    Email: joe@joeferguson.me
    Freenode: joepferguson
    Contact Info:
    http://osmihelp.org
    

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