In the spirit of open source, I'd like to shine a spotlight on depression. Not because it's easy, but because it's important. Mental illness affects many of us, but the stigma attached to it dissuades most people from talking about it openly. That's not how we make progress. With this talk, I want to do my part.
I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was thirteen, and I've been struggling with it my whole life. In this talk, I'll discuss how it has impacted my work as a developer, husband, and father.
By speaking openly about my own challenges and successes, I hope those struggling with mental illness will learn how to be happier and more productive, and others can better understand how to be helpful and supportive.
More information about this talk is available at http://funkatron.com/osmi
Comments
important topic
very important (and perhaps surprisingly relevant) topic for developers. In the past, this has become a successful topic at the Open Source Developers Conference in Australia and Linux Conf AU as well.
Really looking forward to
Really looking forward to this. As someone who has been diagnosed with depression/anxiety, I really love this topic in that it helps both dismiss the cultural stigmas with mental illnesses and show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.