Healthy Minds in a Healthy Community

Open source communities attract and boast passionate, idealistic people, and many of us invest copious amounts of time and effort to contribute to our projects and support our communities. This underlying emotional attachment can make us more vulnerable to elevated stress, burnout and conflicts. And then there are those of us who also manage mental illness.

More often than not, we suffer these struggles in silence, feeling (and fearing) that we’re alone in our trouble. Here, our communities can make a huge difference, by building a positive and safe environment where we can blossom and support ourselves and our peers, and feel included.

The community around Django is already very mindful towards inclusivity, and keeping an eye on the well-being of community members. We have recently launched several new projects to further promote the well-being of our community members.

This talk will take a look at open-source communities through the eyes of various mental well-being issues and struggles, and discuss and report on the progress our new initiatives. Hopefully, this will help foster healthy minds in a healthy environment.