Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, affects 6.8 million adults in the United States, or about 3.1% of the US population. People with GAD face excessive worrying every day, usually about things that don't seem to have any apparent concern. Those who suffer from GAD can live a normal and social life, but they have trouble getting though even the simplest daily activities when their anxiety is acting up. The trouble with a mental disorder such as GAD is that it is not apparent who has it and who doesn't, since you can not physically see that a person has a mental disorder. Therefore, people who have never experienced a mental disorder or have never researched them do not understand how much they really effect people that have one.
We are watching a documentary in class right now about Royce White, who has Generalized Anxiety Disorder. He was a college basketball star, but after he committed to the Houston Rockets, he stopped playing for them because they would not accommodate for his anxiety. The Rockets coaching staff did not understand how much this mental anxiety affected White, and so White would not play for the Rockets unless they gave him a mental health doctor and some other extra help in order to ease his anxiety. The Rockets and White could not come to an agreement, so White was forced to leave the team.
Royce White is not alone with his mental disorder affecting his dreams and aspirations. There are many other athletes and people in other professions who cannot do their job affectively because of their mental disorder. Mental disorders are affecting people all across the country, and so the question arises: What should be done to accommodate for people with mental disorders?
Of course I think that there should be accommodations for people with mental disorders, but ultimately they are the only ones that determine their level of success. Organizations can only meet them half way, they have to make half the effort as well. Royce White determined his own success, or lack of. The Rockets tried to work with him, but he failed the meet them half way. If he had put in a little more effort to compromise then maybe things would have been different. Think about paralympians: hard working men and women who are disabled in all sorts of ways, but still find a way to be able to compete in their own olympics. They had help, support, and were accommodated; but they worked tirelessly to get there and make their dreams happen.
ReplyDeleteOf course I think that there should be accommodations for people with mental disorders, but ultimately they are the only ones that determine their level of success. Organizations can only meet them half way, they have to make half the effort as well. Royce White determined his own success, or lack of. The Rockets tried to work with him, but he failed the meet them half way. If he had put in a little more effort to compromise then maybe things would have been different. Think about paralympians: hard working men and women who are disabled in all sorts of ways, but still find a way to be able to compete in their own olympics. They had help, support, and were accommodated; but they worked tirelessly to get there and make their dreams happen.
ReplyDeletePeople with mental disorders should be able to receive treatment by their employers, but it should be discussed and compromised on before the person is employed. I think it was unfair of him to make all of those demands of the team without being willing to budge on a single demand.
ReplyDeleteI think that is important that people with mental disorders are able to get accommodations because for most people, their disorders are something that affect their daily lives. To be able to be successful at their job some people need accommodations, they should be able to advocate for themselves and compromise with their employers so everyone is in agreement and have some of the accommodations they need.
ReplyDeleteI believe it that accommodations to people with mental disorders are important because in a lot of cases, this illness affects their everyday lives and their ability to function. At the same time, the person with the disorder should also be trying to meet the other halfway in order to achieve success. In terms of Royce White, his anxiety affects him a lot and his list of terms for the Rockets might have been a bit excessive. Instead of having the team agree to hiring a doctor to say whether or not he could play, he should have the decision be totally up to him, for he is the one being affected. For accommodations to work, both people must work to meet in the middle, not only one side doing the work.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the basic accommodations should be available to any person struggling with a disability, and from there be tailored to match their specific issues. However, if the person in need is not willing to help themselves, and demands that those around them care for them without a second thought, then they should only receive what is necessary to help get their life back on track.
ReplyDelete