Project_ Zine, Desiree Colon (6)

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• AnxietyPhobia rief He
• Page 2E Group 5: Introduction
• Introduction & Main ArgumentIn modern-day society, working in the mental health field can feel like invisible labor that you do not get paid enough for. You deal with people who are in very vulnerable places mentally and emotionally, but at times they can also be manipulative, so you always have to stay alert. You want to believe in patients and help them the best you can, but the Lived Experience Society depends on care workers, but in these positions, they are often not treated with respect or compensated properly. Jobs in mental health require patience, empathy, and emotional control every day, but people don't realize how draining that can be because they see it as just part of the job. Some companies also do not provide proper support to their staff or give them the right tools to handle. emergencies or crises.
• Page 4In certain fields, hands-on training is required, but what about the risks involved in working in a outpatient or nonprofit mental health clinic? We work with people who are going through many different situations in life, and sometimes those situations can make people reactive and unpredictable. Front desk workers and coordinators are often the first people patients interact with, yet they are expected to manage intense situations. There are clinics with over a hundred patients but limited staff members in each department. This also means that things fall through the cracks and it's inevitable when there are limited resources. The Invisible Labor
• Page 5The only people usually trained to fully handle these situations are licensed care professionals, but they are not always around when something happens. At the same time, some supervisors are either not properly qualified for their positions or have not received sufficient training, which can create stressful and disorganized work environments. The source of the problem comes from institutional structures like underfunding programs and staffing systems. This creates an environment where workers are expected to carry emotional and safety-related responsibilities without the protection or recognition they actually deserve. Institutions depend on workers continuing to perform undervalued emotional labor despite inadequate support. The risk involved when working in caregiving roles, in general, are often treated as part of the job, whether struggles appear in the home or in workplaces like mental health clinics. Even though this work is essential and people rely on it every day, it is not treated as an important piece of the puzzle or as structurally demanding form of labor. This supports what Angela Davis was saying about the way society overlooks the work that keeps everyday life functioning.
• MENTAL HEALTHUNDER break 130 the cycle pw Davis talks about how care work is invisible in everyday life, and Federici adds to this by showing how capitalism structures that invisibility by dividing labor into pieces that workers have limited control over. "Today we are witnessing more progress on that path, with the new value placed on mental skills, adaptation to machines and digital processes. At the same time, the recombinant nature of much production undermines the capacity for synthetic thinking. The synthesis is in the machine, while the workers provide bits and pieces through a labour process that they less than even control." (Federici, 2018). This idea reflects what it feels like working at a mental health front desk, where you are responsible for managing people's emotions and keeping things running, but you cannot fix the systems or conditions that create that stress. You are constantly absorbing others' frustration while having a limited ability to change the situation itself.
• ConclusionI hope that people will be able to receive the right kind of care. the kind that meets their needs, instead of empty promises or understaffing concerns. Care work is rendered invisible because the system still considers it "women's work." Care work has been systematically cheapened through a lack of resources and training, and underfunded programs. What will it take for mental health workers to be taken seriously?
• Anxiety DepressionTrauma Stress