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Comment by paddleon | Hacker News Reader

the reason to NOT have a DSM-recognized diagnosis on your medical record is it can be used to disqualify you for things later in life.

And we cannot predict all of these future changes, either in our interests and/or the law.

"We don't want pilots with depression or anxiety, because duh obvious reasons" and there goes a career option for you. (something very like this happened to my cousin)

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That's an interesting example. On the one hand, we really don't want actively suicidal pilots. On the other, are the current guidelines too stringent? I can't imagine you're saying that actively suicidal pilots should be allowed to fly hundreds of people, so the argument seems to be more that private corporations have too much information and too much power and are willing to blacklist qualified candidates just to reduce examination costs.

That seems more like an argument against corporate overreach than anything else.

The problem is that the policy incentivizes pilots who develop problems to hide them. So pilots who should take time off to work through problems are instead flying planes, because the alternative is losing their career.

> we really don't want actively suicidal pilots

We do not, and so providing pilots with the ability to seek help and support seems like what we'd want to do.

The degree to which mental health has been pathologized is unhealthy for those in need and for society at large.

The pilot restrictions definitely need a revamp. Any diagnosis or medication can greatly restrict you for a long time after, incentivizing avoiding treatment completely.

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