Could this be a sign of mental illness?

[Hiphopster]

For the last month somebody in the office I work in has been doing things with faeces in the toilets. Smearing it, stuffing it into loo roll dispenser, inserting it into the soap dispenser and finally balancing it on top of the soap dispenser. After constant inspections by the office management team, a woman has been suspended. She started employment at the same time it started and her door entry records fit with timings. There is nothing outwardly remarkable about this woman, probably late 30’s, keeps herself to herself. When spoken to by HR she didn’t admit or deny and just kept asking was she being sacked. No incidents since her suspension. I’m aware prisoners do this type of thing as a protest but there appears no similar motivation here. Could this be a sign of mental illness? Obviously this is for HR to handle but whilst we all relieved it’s stopped I feel sad for the woman.

I’m surprised you know all about her talks with HR.

It’s that supposed the be confidential?

Well is certainly isn't normal behaviour... how odd. My eldest has ASD and he went through a period of poo smearing 🤮🤢😡 ... but nothing like that recently... seems very odd behaviour for an adult.

Crazy as a box of frogs! Well rid of her!

Chardonnay absolutely. There was a dept head in there too, who fed back to people, who fed back to other people. Wrong of course but it’s been a massive talking point, a wide range of people came across the deposits. The deposit in the hand soap was found by a guy using the disabled toilet when he pressed down on the dispenser. One was left in the hood of a jacket that had been left in there by a lunchtime gym goer. Health risk so people have been outraged. I’ve just heard people say it can be an indicator of a mental health condition and I think it surely must be. Unless it’s an extreme fetish

I do agree something like this is quite the talking point in any environment.

Yes the woman concerned has mental health issues, in my opinion. It's a wonder her CV checked out in the first place! Your link with the phenomena of protest behaviour in prisons is relevant too, since her attack on the health and safety of those using those toilets is aggressive and almost certainly stems from deeply held anger. Acting out that way in the workplace suggests she may have a persecution complex and/or a personality disorder.

Very concerning and I too sympathise with her plight, but she needs professional help. I hope she gets it, that it's effective, and that she can continue working somewhere else once her disturbing behaviour has been worked through therapeutically. That will take time, though. Chances are she's already known to mental health services and has hidden that information when applying for jobs. Perhaps not, but at the very least she's having some sort of breakdown.

We've had this several times over the years from temporary staff we've employed at peak periods. Seems to be more common than most people would like to think...