> Recent data from a survey conducted by Open Sourcing Mental Illness (2016) suggests 51% of individuals in the tech community have been diagnosed with a mental illness.
Now, if this is true, I mean, that more than every second hacker out there has a mental illness, then I would say, having a mental illness is nothing out of the ordninary, nothing to worry about in particular. If 51% of the smarter folks have it, it can't be that bad, can't it?
Just because something afflicts are large percentage of people doesn't mean it's OK. Hunger and poverty are also "normal" in many communities.
In this particular case, mental illness (by definition) means that some suffering and dysfunction are resulting from the condition. So yes, it is "that bad" because otherwise it wouldn't be diagnosed as a mental illness.
Now, if this is true, I mean, that more than every second hacker out there has a mental illness, then I would say, having a mental illness is nothing out of the ordninary, nothing to worry about in particular. If 51% of the smarter folks have it, it can't be that bad, can't it?