Depression: an obstacle to learning LO10937

Anonymous (anon@karash.com)
Sun, 10 Nov 1996 21:36:44 -0500

Replying to LO10925 --

(Please remove my name from any headers for anonymity. Thanks)

[Host's Note: I do distribute msgs anonymously when requested and when
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Glad to see that this topic is being brought up here on the LO list. Yes,
depression, and the associated features that come along with it, do affect
learning, performance, and the ability to get through a day -- let alone a
year. I'm surprised that no one has talked about their experiences and
how it has or does affect them and their daily work life as a leader.

I know what it does. I am going back to work tommorrow after two weeks of
being hospitalized with what was diagnosed as "Major Depression,
Episodic". This is my third "episode" in the last two years, but my
first hospitalization.

Is it because of my job as a manager? Is there a chemical imbalance in my
brain? Is it the stress of eleven relocations in eight years? Is it
information overload? Is it because I care too damn much for the people
that I lead? Probably all of these reasons, plus many variables that are
unknown.

This problem paralyzes me. It is extremely difficult to be an effective,
thinking leader when you are barely hanging on by a string. Even harder
to digest and implement many of the tools that we talk about on the LO.
Depression is so insidious, so damaging. It's a vicous circle. I have
knowledge that I want to implement, but I can't do it because I am
constantly battling with this overwhelming problem. Talk about a barrier
to a LO, or any substantive management thought. This may be the biggest
-- when the leader can't pull it together to implement it.

Anyone else?

Anonymous Please

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations
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