An article in the Sydney Morning Herald gave advice to employers on how to spot an employee who might be “faking” their mental illness. Writer Anna Spargo-Ryan decided to take a stand.
Anna Spargo-Ryan, a writer from Australia, posted these selfies on Facebook after reading an article titled "Mental illness: who's faking it?"
These photos of me were taken three days apart.
In the first one, I have a mental illness.
And in the second one, I have a mental illness.
The Sydney Morning Herald today published an article by James Adonis, about how employers can identify people who are "faking" mental illness to get out of work.
One of the recommendations from this absolute dropkick of a human was to "issue a warning to those you suspect are faking it."
Part of what makes mental illness so hard to identify in at-risk people is the constant reinforcement that we're "imagining it" or that we're "just sad" or that we "have to want to get better". It's an ethereal illness, existing only because we can't be bothered to be well, or because we've talked ourselves into it, or because we didn't try hard enough, or because we are faking it.
Garbage "people-management thinkers" who choose to perpetuate the myth that mental illness is probably a fakery do so to broad societal detriment. Good people have mental illnesses. We need them to feel supported and empowered in their places, whether that's work or home or school or somewhere else. Not that someone is waiting to "catch them out". Not that their illness is not legitimate. Not that the time they take away from work to seek treatment is bogus.
Both of these photos are mental illness. I hope this helps you to spot the fakers.
The article she refers to in her Facebook post warns employers of a new type of employee “who fakes a disorder for their personal benefit”.
It goes on to list certain clues on how to spot someone faking their mental illness, which includes overreacting, being "evasive and uncertain", and calling "attention to their illness".
She added: "We're still at the beginning of understanding how to support mental health in the workplace, and the idea of 'catching people out' is the antithesis of that."