[hackerspaces] hackerspaces and depression

[Volatile Compound]

One thing I'll add to this (and Ed and Randall's comments were spot-on):

Birds of a feather flock together, and that's not necessarily a good 
thing.  The last thing that anyone suffering from depression needs is to 
be surrounded by other people with similar interests but who may be 
reinforcing - or at least not encouraging progression from - behaviours 
that may be damaging (and I use the word 'damaging' in a loose sense 
here; inclusive of but not limited to physical harm) to themselves 
and/or others.

In my view, participation in a hackerspace *may* be a good thing. 
However, Randall nailed it with the following:

 > makerspaces should absolutely not be seen as solutions to depression...
 > but rather, one component in *possible* concert with more direct,
 > professional methods.

By definition, these are *not* places designed to provide those 
approaches.  That doesn't mean that there cannot be therapeutic value, 
but to view them as any sort of answer to the problems an individual may 
be suffering from is, frankly, dangerous not only for that individual 
but also potentially the space as a whole.

- skroo.

On 12/22/14 10:42 AM, Randall Arnold wrote:
> I have to second Ed's remarks, especially the governing board portion
> and last sentence.  As therapeutic as making in good company can be,
> makerspaces should absolutely not be seen as solutions to depression...
> but rather, one component in *possible* concert with more direct,
> professional methods.
>
>> On December 22, 2014 at 12:32 PM Edward L Platt <ed at elplatt.com> wrote:
>>
>> This is a complicated question.
>>
>> Speaking personally, hackerspaces have for me been many things:
>> - A source of community and a place to get together with my friends
>> and social support network.
>> - A source of stress that I've had to step back from at times for the
>> sake of mental health. This was mostly true when I was a board member
>> and/or officer.
>>
>> Also, mentally ill or seriously stressed members who aren't seeking
>> treatment and don't have healthy coping mechanisms can be extremely
>> toxic for the community.
>>
>> -Ed
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 22, 2014 at 1:17 PM, Clement Quinson < clem at electrolab.fr
>> <mailto:clem at electrolab.fr>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi all,
>>     what we've seen here, is that hackerspaces can help people with
>>     depression in that:
>>     - they're among similar minded people, what can be NOT the case as
>>     an engineer/tech person working in the industry.
>>     - the space is some sort of a social circle, in which interactions
>>     can go much further than just sharing tools/projects.
>>     - people can work on meaningful and/or interesting projects, not
>>     only what you're told to work on to pay your bills.
>>     I may forget other aspects, but these are the main that come to my
>>     mind right now !
>>     C.
>>
>>     On Mon, Dec 22, 2014 at 2:37 PM, Florencia Edwards <
>>     floev22 at gmail.com <mailto:floev22 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>         More info everyone, please. Thanks
>>
>>         2014-12-22 1:10 GMT-03:00 Mark Janssen <
>>         dreamingforward at gmail.com <mailto:dreamingforward at gmail.com>>:
>>
>>             Hackerspaces provide a space to express oneself creatively
>>             and
>>             productively in an otherwise destructive (semi-)economic
>>             system that
>>             would exploit such talent for non-creative ends. If you
>>             need to know
>>             more than that, you can email me personally.
>>
>>             marxos
>>             _______________________________________________
>>             Discuss mailing list
>>             Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>>             <mailto:Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org>
>>             http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>
>>
>>
>>         _______________________________________________
>>         Discuss mailing list
>>         Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>>         <mailto:Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org>
>>         http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>
>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Discuss mailing list
>>     Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>>     <mailto:Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org>
>>     http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Edward L. Platt
>> http://elplatt.com
>> http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
>> http://i3detroit.com
>> @elplatt <http://twitter.com/elplatt>
>>
>> This electronic mail message was sent from my desktop personal
>> computer. Please forgive any long-winded, overly-prosaic ramblings.
>> _______________________________________________
>> Discuss mailing list
>> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>