Month: April 2023

I do understand that mental health is important, and it's good that more people are talking about it. But it seems like we are placing the burden of taking care of one's mental health on individuals rather than the collective. I keep hearing stuff like self-help, self-care, resilience, cognitive behavioural therapy, meditation, mindfulness, exercise, slow breathing, etc. But all of these tools only help us to cope with adversaries and regulate our emotions. They don't help us confront adversaries that affects our mental health in the first place. These can even be harmful because it make us content with adversaries. By changing the way we think and feel, somehow the world will become a better place? Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not really well versed in the concepts of capitalism. But i know that capitalism promotes competition, globalisation, and consumerism, which can make us miserable and lonely. Many people…

I did the thing. I was in high school. My high school had an option to do tech school part time and graduate with an associates. I wanted to do automotive tech. My guidance counselr said don’t do that you’re SMART. Go to college. I did. I got a full scholarship. I probably wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t. “Go for stem” they said “guaranteed good career.” I did. I have no student loans but the only career really open to me was teaching through a program that gave people with a bs an option to teach as they gain a teaching certificate. I guess I didn’t do it right. Didn’t network enough. Started a career in manufacturing. I’m SMART. I’m an ok machinist now. Wages are fine, but not what I was promised for doing the thing.

This is just a vent. My coworkers are horribly toxic human beings. “Pat” removed my permissions for group communications without a reason and has refused to add me back. Pat was told to add me back multiple times by their boss and their bosses boss. Every time I speak Pat shuts me down. During a workshop session on team dynamics I shared that exclusion from communication makes it difficult to do my job. Pat responded directly to my statements and gaslit me. No one else in a group of 20 was interrupted by Pat or anyone else. It was a time to share our experiences, not argue.I am fucking furious. I witnessed a major ADA violation at our workplace. It put me in a really negative situation because “Cody” broke the law and caused harm to a person with a disability. I was really upset because I do not want…

I just put in my two weeks on Thursday and just found out today that I might be put as non-rehireable because I don't have a second job lined up and told my manager that I was just needing a break. And… He took that as me giving up ? So no more going in early. No more staying late. No more coming in on my days off because they need help. He is effectively ruining my chances of future jobs if they call for a reference because he's upset that I'm quitting and it's pathetic and I was genuinely sad to find out.

A year ago today, I had my 10-year tenure terminated because my employer had a fundamental lack of understanding about people with invisible disabilities. (Translation: I was fired for being autistic after returning from a leave of absence for pseudo-related mental health reasons.) Strung me along for a two-month “investigation” for supposed misconduct claims. When they terminated me (of course, close to the end of the month so they wouldn't have to pay health benefits much longer), I enforced my rights to request my personnel file according to state law. They stalled on that for two months. After claiming that they never received my request, they “magically” overnighted me my entire personnel file after I filed a formal claim of violation with my state's labor board (including unreacted documents of the investigation I was not supposed to receive, but because they placed it in my personnel file, they were legally…