Here we will discuss the challenges of managing mental health in a professional setting.
Mental health disorders do not discriminate. The negative thoughts, anxiety, exhaustion, and physical pain do not disappear when you walk into work. In fact; they often become worse. This can make it difficult to keep your composure and complete tasks in a timely and accurate fashion. Despite the challenges, there are things you can do to stay focused, energized, and ready for what the day brings you.
Let’s jump right in!
Battling the Stigma
Unfortunately, there is sometimes a negative stigma surrounding mental health issues. Individuals lacking a full understanding of what mental health disorders entail may have a preconceived notion that anyone suffering is “crazy”, “unstable”, or “incompetent”.
Of course, having a mental health condition does not necessarily mean that all or any of these stigmas are true. Many, if not most individuals struggling with their mental health are competent in performing their job duties. However, having to battle the stigma can cause additional stress and even a feeling of shame or inadequacy.
If you are dealing with negative emotions stemming from the stigma, it is important to remember that having a mental health condition is common and there is nothing to be ashamed of.
Additionally, more and more people are becoming educated on the topic of mental health and the stigma is increasingly disappearing.
Struggling to Maintain Work Relationships
Having a mental illness can have a major impact on professional relationships held within the workplace for many reasons.
Mental illness can make it difficult to communicate effectively, leading to misunderstandings and difficulty expressing thoughts and emotions.
Additionally, mental illness may also change an individual’s behavior. Withdrawal, mood swings, irritability, and lack of patience may become present which fractures relationships and an unsettling environment.
If difficulty communicating and behavior changes are present, team morale will likely drop, collaborations become difficult, and there may be an increase in conflict and a decrease in productivity.
If your work relationships are suffering due to mental illness, you can consult your company’s counselor. If your workplace does not have a counselor, or you don’t feel comfortable speaking with them, consider going to a therapist. Cognitive behavioral therapy specifically can teach you how to manage relationships and interact with others when under stress and battling a mental illness.
Maintaining Work-Life Balance
Mental illness can have a negative effect on an individual’s work-life balance.
If your mind is making it hard to complete tasks, you may have to bring them home with you, resulting in being overworked. If you are going to work worrying about the stressors of your home life, it can be hard to accomplish your duties. Alternately, if you are worrying about work while at home you may begin to struggle with completing the tasks at home, and your familial relationships will be negatively impacted.
Having a healthy work-life balance is an essential component of reducing mental health issues. Therefore, when your work-life balance is impacted by your mental health, your mental health may begin to snowball into a more severe case.
If the work-life overlap becomes too much to handle, consider taking a temporary leave of absence until you are in a better place mentally.
Staying Focused
Staying focused can be near impossible with a mental illness.
Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health disorders, each of which manifests primarily in the mind.
Depression creates an abundance of negative thoughts, sadness, and self-criticism. Conversations and tasks that were once considered normal, can be taken over by these thoughts, which allocates your focus to the wrong thoughts.
Anxiety can create thoughts that leave you questioning your abilities, how others feel about you, and how you present yourself. You may find yourself paranoid or feeling that something bad is going to happen, making it hard to think about anything else.
There are many things you can do to improve your focus while at work.
You can try eliminating distractions like your phone, listening to music, or using cannabis. According to MarijuanaDoctors.com, the blueberry muffin strain is great for focusing and uplifting your mood.
Decreased Energy and Physical Pain
Mental health issues can take a toll on a person’s body and how well it can rest.
Stress and anxiety cause your body to enter “fight-or-flight” mode. Adrenaline and cortisol are released as a result, which may provide a brief energy boost, unfortunately, this can lead to a crash. When the stress becomes chronic, it can eventually cause headaches, exhaustion, tense muscles, and digestive issues.
Mental health issues may also make it difficult to fall asleep since it’s hard to silence the mind.
Additionally, a poor diet or loss of appetite are common symptoms that lead to energy loss.
Feeling depleted at work interferes with your ability to stay on task and maintain cognitive function. Eating healthily, getting plenty of exercise, and going to bed early can help.
Anxiety About Job Security
If your mental health is impacting your ability to perform your work duties, you may begin to worry about job security.
You may also fear that talking to your place of employment about your condition will lead to loss of employment or jeopardize your chances of advancing within the company.
Understandably, these fears can create discomfort around coworkers and added pressure to perform your job mistake-free.
If you are dealing with worries of job insecurities, start by determining whether your state is an “at-will ” state, if they aren’t, they can not fire you for health reasons. You should also talk to human resources about your condition and the worries surrounding your job. HR will help you create a plan that secures your job and keeps you on task and efficient. They may suggest time off or a reduction in workload. Your conversation with HR can be confidential, meaning that not even your boss has to know.
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