Today is Bell Let’s Talk day, a campaign to create awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. This is something that we as a technology industry should talk about more often.

• Our standards for success are increasing. Change is happening faster than it was before, and what success looked like a few years ago seems modest today. This can become a breeding ground for anxiety.
• We are more connected and are sharing more about our lives than ever before - but often only the good parts. Influencer culture means there are a lot of facades online, and no one really shares their failures in public. This can quickly lead to feelings of self doubt. The realities are often different - victories are not always what they seem, and neither are the failures.
• We are also in an age of hyper self awareness and constant measurement. We track every step, every hour we spend, and every calorie we eat. These create a feeling of competition (and potential disapointment) in every aspect of our lives.
• The prevailing advice is to suck it up and just work harder. Persistence is key, and influencing big change will require extra effort. But that doesn’t have to come with the culture of hustle porn, or being busy all the time.

We work to make impact but we also bring our whole [imperfect] selves to work every day. Mental health affects everyone, and this is a conversation we should have more often.