Social & academic initiatives for conversations regarding mental health?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, Javier writes:

There have been many posts about isolation, anxiety and mental health issues, and professional instability, all due to covid or not, and mostly between graduate students. Does anyone know of online social initiatives that are created to bring people together and have a conversation on this issues? Or of initiatives for people in academia who wish to just have a conversation with each other and might not have peers to do so at their uni?

This is an excellent and important query. In response to last week's thread on the question of whether it is a good idea or too risky to be open about one's mental health (particularly as an early-career scholar), Alex Bryant (PhD student, McMaster) posted a related thread on Twitter:

Thinking a lot this morning about a conversation I had with @biopoliticalph yesterday: It may be that there are many working philosophers who are in fact disabled are "in the closet," so to speak. But what changes will be made to make it viable for disabled philosophers to come out of the closet about disability (including those like bipolar)?

...If disabled philosophers are prevented from self-identifying as disabled either by failure to receive uptake (i.e. identification of mental illness isn't taken seriously) or by fear of reprisal (i.e. in the case above), that's an injustice of ableism at least re:agential identity.

Was disappointed by the comments on Phil. Cocoon recently following from a reader question about coming out as Bipolar and going on the job market (though I think @marcusarvan did good work attempting to steer the discussion). See https://philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2021/05/being-open-about-mental-health-issues.html#comments

The inquiry reminded me, and others, of Paul Lodge's recent discussion of his experiences with bipolar at @biopoliticalp and for @OxonianReview: http://www.oxonianreview.org/wp/what-is-it-like-to-be-manic/

These posts have also been discussed on @DailyNousEditor here: https://dailynous.com/2020/07/15/identify-philosopher-insane/

As @marcusarvan points out in the post, and as @biopoliticalph has long rung the alarm bell about, there is a special kind of stigma in philosophy around disabilities which are thought to interact with one's "rationality." Similar concerns about teaching responsibilities.

I've only seen two kinds of comment about this.

1. 1. Apologetics about how it is reasonable to marginalize disabled philosophers from the position.
   2. Analysis of the ableism in question, whether of the thing itself or the apologia around it.

The third, perhaps, is a hybrid:

3. A reaction to 2. in which one is either ostracized or, in Peter Railton's case, provided a ten-minute ovation at the APA. More from @DailyNousEditor re:Railton's Dewey lecture here: https://dailynous.com/2015/02/22/peter-railtons-dewey-lecture/

But what changes will be made to make it viable for disabled philosophers to come out of the closet about disability (including those like bipolar)? What will be done, for instance, in the organization of academic labour to undo the treatment of disabled philosophers as threats to productivity and to the metaphilosophical norms of what doing philosophy requires? 

An excellent thread, and excellent questions. Here are the OP's questions along with Alex's:

1. Does anyone know of online social initiatives that are created to bring people together and have a conversation on this issues? Or of initiatives for people in academia who wish to just have a conversation with each other and might not have peers to do so at their uni?
2. What changes must be made to make it viable for disabled philosophers to come out of the closet about disability (including those like bipolar)? What will be done, for instance, in the organization of academic labour to undo the treatment of disabled philosophers as threats to productivity and to the metaphilosophical norms of what doing philosophy requires? 

Feel free to weigh in on either or both sets of questions, as I think it would be good to have an open discussion on these important issues. Also, I've been asked to share the following excellent interviews (from the Dialogues on Disability archive) at Biopolitical Philosophy, as I think it can be very helpful to hear and amplify the voices and experiences of those who have chosen to be open about mental distress and illness:

• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain With Alex Bryant
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Paul Lodge
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Matthew Norman
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Karl Viertel
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Brian Montgomery
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Melinda Hall
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Jake Jackson
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Karl Viertel
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Audrey Yap
• Dialogues on Disability: Shelley Tremain Interviews Jesse Prinz

Comments

[Javier]

Hi, I'm the OP. Thank you for extending the post with Alex's questions Marcus. Will definitely look at the resources you shared as well.

I received an e-mail for a series of lectures on mental health and academia - 1st Midlands MAP Festival: Philosophy, Academia and Mental Health - https://www.facebook.com/groups/282240408453319/

It's not what I had in mind when I wrote the post, but I guess it might be interesting to anyone thinking about this.

Hopefully other events will come up that help some of us have a conversation on this topics.

Thank you again.

[Alexandra Gustafson]

Hi, I’m very excited to be able to contribute to this thread! Three other graduate students and I founded a group this year that may be of interest: the Mental Health & Disability Caucus (MH&D). It’s local to our department, but it’s been an incredible success! Here’s a quick blurb about the caucus that explains what exactly it is, etc.: https://philosophy.utoronto.ca/news/support-and-solidarity-the-gpsu-mental-health-disability-caucus/

I’m confident I speak for all four of us when I say that this is an initiative we would love to see grow. If you’d like to know more, we’d be very happy to answer any questions, join in on some brainstorming, or whatever else might be helpful.