Mental Health
Mental Health is a hot topic; writing about it in the corporate world can be tough. I feel strongly about leading by example and embodying the values of our business. Although getting to personal when discussing mental health can be viewed as inappropriate. I’ve never been one to follow the rules if it means not being authentic.
Personally, I have been attending regular therapy sessions on and off for the past 20 years, both when things feel like they’re crumbling and when everything is going great. I like to view therapy visits the same way as visits to the dentist. Regular check-ups catch issues before the require major intervention. Investing in annual therapy visits, much like annual checks and cleanings at the dentist, can catch mental health issues starting to get out of hand and provide you with new coping techniques the same way your dentist can catch a cavity beginning to form and fill it before it turns into a root canal, or worse an extraction.
Although we’ve come a long way, we still live in a society that perpetuates the stigma of mental health and fails to show the value of therapy. Attending therapy is often viewed as “the last resort” when things are really bad and you are so overwhelmed you turn to some sort of self-harm or even worse, contemplating or attempting to take your own life. We often hear people say things like, “I had no idea it was that bad”, but the truth is, many people miss the signs (missing work, isolation, sleeping more, etc.) of someone screaming for help before it is to late.
As a community, it is important to have open and honest discussions about mental health and the available treatments. As leaders, we need to give our teams the grace to prioritize health from the neck up the same way we allow them grace when they encounter a health issue from the neck down. This can be accomplished in a few ways, including; posting information about free resources available in your community, implementing mental health or flex days to allow employees time to process or take time for themselves when they need it, and selecting group benefit plans that provide adequate coverage for mental health treatment.
LINKS TO RESOURCES
Men’s Mental Health – https://headsupguys.org/
Canadian Suicide Prevention – https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.html
US Based Mental Health Resource – Call or Text 988 https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention
