This is an
essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
Wikipedia would grind to a halt in hours if every editor with a mental illness [1] went on strike. The discussion of mental health would be very different if everyone realized that.
Many editors—most, if I had to guess—struggle with some sort of mental illness. Most of us edit without issue—although sometimes with considerable amounts of effort required to keep things that way. From conditions like depression, ADHD, and anxiety to ones like schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder: You name it, there's probably a good number of editors in good standing who have it. Yet, despite that, when mental health is discussed, many editors quickly default to a position of rotely saying "Wikipedia is not therapy," as if that answers anything, often with the implication that editors with mental illnesses should just quit. [2]
Mental health on Wikipedia is a far more complex topic for any one essay to cover, but here are my three guiding principles for editors with mental illnesses:
Instead:
And when it comes to interacting with editors who are mentally ill:
No one is under any obligation to disclose a mental illness, although there may be some cases that it's strategically a good call, for instance to explain why you are slow to respond to messages, or are forgetful, etc. However, even outside of those cases, I do think people should consider being open about their conditions, as an act of solidarity. Many Wikipedians only see mental illnesses come up in unblock requests. Being aware that, "That person with 10 FAs is bipolar", "That functionary has borderline personality disorder", and so on can do a lot to counter these unfair stereotypes. You don't have to put it on your userpage or anything. I don't. But even acknowledging it in conversation counts for a lot.
In terms of holders of higher permissions with mental illnesses, in addition to myself (an admin with dissociative identity disorder and bipolar-like symptoms [3]), I am aware of, based on on-wiki self-identification: [4] a functionary/ex- arb with borderline personality disorder; a functionary with bipolar disorder; an admin with a psychotic condition; an admin with a schizophrenia-spectrum condition; and too many admins to count with some combination of autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. The unifying thing, when I've talked to other admins in this group, is that we know how to manage our symptoms, and we know when to step away.
As noted above, I have dissociative identity disorder and bipolar-like symptoms. [3] Here are the approaches I take to remain an editor in good standing and keep the admin mop:
This is an
essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
Wikipedia would grind to a halt in hours if every editor with a mental illness [1] went on strike. The discussion of mental health would be very different if everyone realized that.
Many editors—most, if I had to guess—struggle with some sort of mental illness. Most of us edit without issue—although sometimes with considerable amounts of effort required to keep things that way. From conditions like depression, ADHD, and anxiety to ones like schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder: You name it, there's probably a good number of editors in good standing who have it. Yet, despite that, when mental health is discussed, many editors quickly default to a position of rotely saying "Wikipedia is not therapy," as if that answers anything, often with the implication that editors with mental illnesses should just quit. [2]
Mental health on Wikipedia is a far more complex topic for any one essay to cover, but here are my three guiding principles for editors with mental illnesses:
Instead:
And when it comes to interacting with editors who are mentally ill:
No one is under any obligation to disclose a mental illness, although there may be some cases that it's strategically a good call, for instance to explain why you are slow to respond to messages, or are forgetful, etc. However, even outside of those cases, I do think people should consider being open about their conditions, as an act of solidarity. Many Wikipedians only see mental illnesses come up in unblock requests. Being aware that, "That person with 10 FAs is bipolar", "That functionary has borderline personality disorder", and so on can do a lot to counter these unfair stereotypes. You don't have to put it on your userpage or anything. I don't. But even acknowledging it in conversation counts for a lot.
In terms of holders of higher permissions with mental illnesses, in addition to myself (an admin with dissociative identity disorder and bipolar-like symptoms [3]), I am aware of, based on on-wiki self-identification: [4] a functionary/ex- arb with borderline personality disorder; a functionary with bipolar disorder; an admin with a psychotic condition; an admin with a schizophrenia-spectrum condition; and too many admins to count with some combination of autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. The unifying thing, when I've talked to other admins in this group, is that we know how to manage our symptoms, and we know when to step away.
As noted above, I have dissociative identity disorder and bipolar-like symptoms. [3] Here are the approaches I take to remain an editor in good standing and keep the admin mop: