Creating a mentally healthy workplace SENScot 17 th July 2020 Helena Macleod Bridge A Gap 07825 508945 helena@bridgeagap.co.uk
What is mental health? • Definition: “A state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” WHO (2014) • The positive dimension of mental health is stressed in WHO's definition of health as contained in its constitution: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” • In many ways, mental health is just like physical health: everybody has it and we need to take care of it • A period of poor mental wellbeing due to excessive and prolonged stress can lead to developing a common mental health problem, making the way we think, feel or react difficult, or even impossible, to cope with • Currently 1 in 4 people in Scotland will experience a mental health problem in the space of a year • Many people choose not to admit this because of the stigma still associated with mental health problems
Mental Health Stigma • Stigma: “The unlawful discrimination that happens when a person is treated differently, because of a protected characteristic, in a way that disadvantages them” (See Me Scotland) • Discrimination may or may not be deliberate but either way, it usually cannot be justified • There is still stigma and discrimination attached to mental health problems • Tackle the prejudice, ignorance, and misguided stereotyping at work • Stigma and discrimination can make people who are mentally unwell feel worse • It can stop them asking for help and ultimately could be the difference between life and death • Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to receive fair treatment if they are ill or distressed • A broken leg takes time and medical support to heal. A broken mind is no different • With the right support, two thirds of people diagnosed with mental ill health go on to make a full recovery
Anxiety Effects on your body Effects on your mind • • a churning feeling in your stomach feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax • • having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst feeling light-headed or dizzy • feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing • pins and needles down • feeling restless or unable to sit still • feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you • headaches, backache or other aches and pains • feeling like you can't stop worrying, or that bad things will happen if you stop worrying • faster breathing • worrying about anxiety itself, for example • a fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat worrying about when panic attacks might happen • sweating or hot flushes • wanting lots of reassurance from other people or • Problems sleeping worrying that people are angry or upset with you • • worrying that you're losing touch with reality grinding your teeth, especially at night • nausea (feeling sick) • needing the toilet more or less often • changes in your sex drive • Having panic attacks
The Black Dog of depression How you might behave How you might feel • • avoiding social events and activities you usually enjoy down, upset or tearful • • self-harming or suicidal behaviour restless, agitated or irritable • • guilty, worthless and down on yourself difficulty speaking, thinking clearly or making decisions • • empty and numb losing interest in sex • • isolated and unable to relate to other difficulty remembering or concentrating on things people • using more tobacco, alcohol or other drugs than usual • finding no pleasure in life or things you • usually enjoy difficulty sleeping, or sleeping too much • a sense of unreality • feeling tired all the time • no self-confidence or self-esteem • no appetite and losing weight, or eating too much and gaining weight • hopeless and despairing • physical aches and pains with no obvious physical cause • Suicidal • moving very slowly, or being restless and agitated • By 2030, mental health problems (particularly depression) will be the leading cause of mortality and morbidity (diseased state) globally (WHO 2011) https://vimeo.com/434973022
Mental Health Inequality • Socially disadvantaged people have an increased risk of developing mental health issues to the extent that: • adults living in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to have common mental health problems as those in the least deprived areas (22% versus 11%) • Twice as many GP consultations for anxiety in areas of deprivation than in more affluent areas in Scotland (62 vs. 28 consultations /1000 patients, 2011) • The link between social status and mental health problems is thought to result from the level, frequency and duration of stressful experiences and the extent to which social and individual resources and sources of support reduce their impact. • Stressful experiences occur across the life course and include : o poverty o poor housing o family conflict o unemployment o childhood adversity o chronic health problems • Social inequalities shape health inequalities within populations. These are driven by the distribution of power, income & wealth. Sir Harry Burns – The Glasgow Effect http://www.healthscotland.scot/health-inequalities/fundamental-causes/power- inequality
The gender health gap • Inequality between men’s and women’s health (seen as a feminine issue) • Men have a shorter life expectancy, more likely to die from heart disease, a stroke or be overweight • Reluctance to talk about mental health, higher rate of suicide with 3 in 4 male (impact of job loss, relationship breakdown) • Men are less inclined to seek medical help or advice - 90% don’t want to trouble their GP unless they think there’s a serious problem • Workplace wellbeing initiatives – promote awareness & action on health, signposting to online information, anomynity, messages using masculine language, create programmes with competitive camaraderie & humour https://www.unum.co.uk/resources/mens-health-in-the-workplace
Take care of your mental health • Mental Health is an important part of overall health & wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel & act • It may also affect how we handle stress and our interpersonal relationships • During the pandemic fear and anxiety can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions. These are normal emotions to an abnormal situation • Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones, your financial situation or job, or loss of support services you rely on • Changes in sleep or eating patterns • Difficulty sleeping or concentrating • Worsening of chronic health problems • Worsening of mental health conditions • Increased use of tobacco, alcohol and other substances or over-eating • People with pre-existing mental health conditions or substance use disorders may be particularly vulnerable • People may be more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and feelings during a crisis like the pandemic. Feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety, and other emotional or financial stresses are known to raise the risk for suicide • Support from family and community, or feeling connected, and having access to in-person, telephone and virtual counselling can help https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life- coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html
Covid Fatigue and feeling frazzled • Are you tired, stressed out and need a break? • I’m FINE! (Fearful, Insecure, Nervous and Exhausted) • Covid Fatigue and Volunteer fatigue rising, leading to burnout • 2 kinds of stress - intense (acute) stress and prolonged (chronic) stress • Stages of stress on communities from disasters • Early, during or right after a disaster - communities pull together, people support one another, stay at home, sense of community bonding (say hello on street, clap for NHS) • Disillusionment phase - heroic spirit wears thin, difficulties occur, stress builds, lose optimism, negative or angry reactions, exhaustion “What are they doing to fix this? How long will this last?” (disillusionment lasts a year) • Sprint vs. marathon • Avoiding burnout: Maintaining healthy boundaries during Covid and beyond Webinar 22 nd July
Develop coping skills • Exercise • No. 1 best thing we can do to cope • Releases endorphins, gets the adrenaline out when the frustration builds up • Talking • Saying it out loud is important. Find the right place and time, but do it • Ignoring feelings doesn’t make them go away. It’s like trying to hold a beachball underwater • Constructive thinking • We think it’s the situation that causes our feelings, but our feelings come from our thoughts about the situation • We can’t change the situation, but we can adjust our thinking • Self care and compassion for others. Remind yourself, “I’m doing the best I can” • Mindfulness and gratitude • The more you do this, the easier it gets • We put ourselves through a lot of unnecessary misery projecting into the future or ruminating about the past. Take life one day at a time
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