
I said it when he first reported and got criticized heavily on this board for saying it, but a large part of his mental health issues were him being in an environment and with coworkers he didn't like. While a change of environment and coworkers isn't going to fix everything, when your issues are brought on and significantly exacerbated by your environment, changing your environment does wonders for your mental health.
What an absolute bunch of crap this is.
If you have mental health issues, you can change scenery but you bring those health issues with you. So many people with mental health problems move to different cities, change jobs, change where they hang out and who they hang out with in attempts to deny their issues and blame it on where they are and who they are with. But the same issues come out and persist, eventually leading those people to do it all over again. This is extremely common.
If Simmons had an actual mental health issue, such as social anxiety(which encompasses workplace anxiety), he wouldn't suddenly be cured and ready to go right away. It would take time. And his issues, if untreated would come screaming back into his life after a while.
My guess is he will be fine and have no further issues because he faked it all along in an attempt to get paid.
If my guess turns out true, that makes Simmons and his representation absolute scum. If he has some issues going forward, I will apologize to him here and admit I am wrong, but I don't think I am.
This take on Simmons seems more like happiness and mental well-being rather than a mental illness.
And it is only mental illness that should matter here (in terms of being able to show up to work), not mental well-being.
No one said Simmons has a mental illness. He has stated he has mental health issues, that doesn't mean illness. Mental well-being and happiness are both absolutely factors in your mental health. As is your environment. There are all sorts of medical journals out there on this subject and how a change of environment and greatly increase your overall mental health.
For example, this article: https://nationalcounsellingsociety.org/blog/posts/how-your-environment-affects-your-mental-health#:~:text=%20How%20your%20environment%20affects%20your%20mental%20health,not%20as%20easy%20to%20classify%20neatly...%20More%20
SOCIAL FACTORS
Social factors are issues in the immediate family or wider community which can have an impact upon mental health.
Stigma. Experiencing stigma such as racism, sexism, homophobia, or other, perhaps more insidious forms of prejudice is known to majorly increase a person’s risk of mental illness.
Discord. Strife and violence in the home or the community is a big cause of anxiety, stress, depression, and even conditions like PTSD.
Abuse. Abuse - physical, sexual, or emotional – can encompass anything from domestic violence to bullying within the community to catcalling. Experiencing it regularly within your environment can be very bad for you.
Poverty. Poverty attacks mental health from a great many angles. It can restrict access to the kind of nutritious diet which benefits mental health. It can make it harder to get good jobs or other opportunities, which results in frustration, stress, and a lack of self-worth. It brings the constant stress of worrying about where the next rent payment will come from. And it often forces people into unhealthy environments
Lack of social support. Humans are social animals, designed to rely on one another. Feeling ostracised, or alone, or otherwise unsupported within your community has a major impact upon mental health.
Toxic relationships. Toxic relationships can lower self-esteem, increase irritability, cause anxiety, contribute to depression, and even foster conditions like PTSD.
Lack of safety. Feeling unsafe in your environment will bring with it a great deal of stress and anxiety.
The bolded could all very easily apply to Simmons in Philly. Heck he might even be taking verbal/emotional abuse much worse behind the scenes than what has publicly been stated.
The good news, however, is that getting help for the one aspect often helps the other along. Finding a counsellor who can help you to come to terms with mental health problems or affected by (and affecting) your environment can enable you to make the positive changes needed both to improve your mental health and to break out of a toxic space.
In other words, if your environment is causing you mental strife, anxiety, etc., changing your environment can alleviate a large part of that strife, anxiety, stress, etc.
I agree with what you are saying about well-being and changing environments. I disagree that mental well-being (happiness) is a justifiable cause for not showing up to work.
Which is fair though I have no idea the extent of his mental health, perhaps the anxiety (or whatever) he feels is so bad it is a justifiable reason to not show up for work, though I believe the Sixers have been fining him, so he probably is not at that level.
When someone says they have mental health issues, they aren't saying they are mentally ill, and I think that is what most people think, and I don't believe that has ever been the case with Simmons. I believe Simmons wanted out of Philly because he felt he couldn't play there because he felt betrayed, not supported, ostracized, alone, etc. For him those issues were too much for him to want to play, whereas those issues will likely not exist on a new team, with new teammates, etc. It doesn't mean he was faking it though. It doesn't mean he is making a mockery of mental illness or mental health. That is what I've always objected to as I just don't think that is the case.