AL,

JMF forgot to insert his caveat that he has used elsewhere:

quote:

lord know's I'm probably mis-interpreting

...he is being encouraged to incorporate this thinking into his posts next year!

On a more serious note, one must be somewhere between irresponsible and an utter ass to label disruptive people as mentally ill. The disruptive participant is not unusual and not always unwelcome provided they are handled appropriately.

quote:

Originally posted by "Friar Tuck":
On a more serious note, one must be somewhere between irresponsible and an utter ass to label disruptive people as mentally ill. The disruptive participant is not unusual and not always unwelcome provided they are handled appropriately.

Observations that some disruptive participants may suffer from such disorders do not, as I see it, "label (all) disruptive people as mentally ill."

For those who have not seen these articles, some food for thought related to the topic:

http://www.trainingdr.com/articles/evaluations.htm

http://summitconsulting.com/articles/vol-2-11.html

Regards,

Scott G. Welch

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Scott G Welch,

Personal attacks at this time of year. Some people have nothing better to do but make themselves feel better by bringing other's down.

AL - you're looking at the Venn diagram in the wrong manner. It is not all persons who are "erratic" who suffer from a mental illness. Those who are disruptive (large circle) may be suffering from a mental illness (smaller containted circle) and this information should be taken into consideration.

Then again, disrupting a professional meeting could easily be seen as a sign of a greater mental health issue, I'll concede that point. What "normal" person would actively disrupt a meeting or a training?

How prevalent are mental health disorders? "Major depression ranked second only to ischemic heart disease in magnitude of disease burden in established market economies. (The measure used is the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)). Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder also contributed significantly to the total burden of illness attributable to mental disorders."
- Global Burden of Disease

This is not "erratic behaviour," as you put it. 16% of the worlds population suffers from one of these debilitating issues.

But what about the United States?
The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2003 Emergency Department Survey found that nearly 50 million Americans sought help through emergency rooms or medical doctors for mental health issues. That's 20% of the population. How many in the remaining population did not seek help and continue to suffer from a mental health issue that is neither diagnosed nor treated?

I am amazed that I provide fairly sound advice:
Treat each person as an individual
Attempt to understand what is going on.
Keep yourself and your class safe.

And this is met with derision and ridicule. Unbelievable.

Um... My point was that YOU have responded to two threads about erratic behavior by pointing to mental illness. This thread and the one about dealing with difficult, abusive customers.

Might these disruptive people be suffering from mental illness? Possibly, but I and most of my colleagues are not mental health professionals and are not in a position to make such a diagnosis, nor does it make sense to make such an assumption. Regardless of the reasons for someone's erratic behavior, the fact is -- we cannot control others' behavior, only our own. Therefore, it makes sense, in seeking solutions, to focus on what we can do, not on attempting to control or diagnose others.

My exact point - what we can, as trainers do is:

1. Receive training on how to handle people suffering from mental health issues.

2. Take care in dealing with people who are suffering from mental health issues.

3. Ensure that we, and our classes, are safe.

At no point did I suggest that we treat or diagnose. I am not clear where you are getting that impression.

It has come up in these two threads because it is an appropirate addition to the topic. It would be odd for me to comment about it in, say, a technical training thread.

Good lord, LOL, the talk radio program I'm listening to is discussnig Bi-Polar disorder. How appropriate!