Mental Health in the Workplace

There are few things I like talking about more than about reducing stress through the narrative discourse using the first person viewpoint, first, because of the results second, because, once a client has done it, it is almost like starting to write on a clean slate. I would say that doing this work is "a return to life". It is a wonderful way to clean up the past and reach levels of joy and fulfilment never reached before. 

Statistics  on mental health in the workplace
For some unknown reason, the situation of mental illness in the workplace is far more alarming than Health Canada statistics has recognized since 2004. Today, it is estimated that one out of every five Canadians experience symptoms of distress in the workplace. Poor performance is often "the straw that breaks the camel's back".

Read:
http://aunomdelasante.blogspot.ca/2012/06/we-measure-tree-by-its-root-system.html

When companies previously invested in security cameras before, it was for safety reasons. But since 2004, cameras have caught more events than companies bargained for with episodes of rage (such as when a man was filmed smacking his monitor before batting it off his desk with its keyboard), distracted employees handing back late assignments, depression accounting for long-term absenteism, and even suicides.

Read:
http://aunomdelasante.blogspot.ca/2012/04/addicted-to-stress.html

Bullying and adjustment disorder

All are signs of changes occurring in the way people think, act and cope. Incapacitating symptoms often stem from overwhelming pressure and an employee experiencing adjustment disorder will feel burnt out. There is bullying in the workplace as well, leaving workers isolated and somehow feeling responsable for the abuse. The guilt stems from the feeling of being different and the erroneous thought that this difference provokes others into the bullying behaviors. Many experience anxiety disorder, which when prolonged, can lead to panic disorder rendering one incapable to carry out everyday tasks.

Depression stemming from work conditions
Often such situations become a long term condition and a vulnerable employee might not even recognize this as a depression. It is important for all in the workplace to notice changes such as important weight loss or weight gain, poor sleep habits and irritable outbursts which are symptoms which indicate major depression.

Other factors related to depression

Although stress at work is a major factor in depression, these symptoms may also signal thyroid dysfunction, sleep disorders and even chronic pain and it is often hard to know which came first. Each additional stress adds up to a level of impairment.

Read:
http://aunomdelasante.blogspot.ca/2012/02/depression-kills-spirit.html

Every day situations-work, financial problems, family, health and relationship issues-may trigger depressive symptoms, especially when there is a feeling of helplessness that cannot be addressed. I'm think of the situation where a mother who went to court lost her child after being told she has to keep him safe if she wants him back in a home where 16 other people live. Having no education and no means of changing her situation, she cannot see the day when things will change. Unfortunately, when situations are not resolved, they become chronic.

Read:
http://aunomdelasante.blogspot.ca/2012/02/depression-kills-spirit.html

Treatment of depression

Most doctors now agree that it is important to treat depression agressively because one bout of depression usually augments the risk of future episodes, waxing and waning on and off. Drug therapy-antidepressant drugs-is usually good to lower anxiety. Unfortunately, trying to match drug to patient may take some trial and error time the patient is ill able to withstand. Doctor also recommend physical activities but a lot of depressive people say they do not have the energy to walk, run or lift weights.

A dual approach of drug and emotional talk therapy helps to deal with depression or burn out in order to get to the root of the problem while helping to find solutions and increasing well-being. 

Read:
http://aunomdelasante.blogspot.ca/2011/11/all-roads-lead-back-to-you.html

The accent on changing thoughts and behavior as well as confiding to a neutral professional will generally contribute to the easing of the situation. It is generally recognized that relationship issues, such as a sense of loss, conflicts and life changing circumstances affect the mind, the heart and the spirit. Researchers at McGill University have linked depression with heart conditions, diabetes and various skin conditions.

Wellness strategy programs
Depressions and burn out are so serious that many companies have invested in wellness strategies program to address mental illness in the workplace. Many companies deal with stress and other health issues with wellness strategies such as gym and nutrition programs, but the effort isn't a replacement for making the workplace a better place to be. Being just a passive distributor of information and tools will not reverse the trend and current rates of disability. It puts the onus on the worker and the reasoning is that it's up to the worker to find a correction. It ends up showing that some companies don't value their employees.

The cost of disability on Canadian businesses
The cost of mental illness on Canadian businesses takes a tremendous toll on both employees and companies-depressions and burn-out, the leading factors of disability among people between ages of 16 to 45 years old. But unless companies are open enough to talk about these problems and show they value their work force instead of ignoring the workplace growing role in mental illness, the constant over-stimulation put on the workers' bodies and minds will only continue to rise. When I was a young sociologist, this is what I was studying when I first came out of University. Today, some thrity years later, it is obvious that the price tag attached to productivity is the disability claims. Workplace conflicts cost employers between 6 to 10 billion dollars and fallouts create a "ripple effect" among co-workers and colleagues who experience low morale and high turnover rates.

Therapy clears things up as the person relates stories and evacuates emotions-putting responsibility where it lies. As tensions and moods stabilize, changes of thoughts and behaviors are considered and the person selects different adjustment strategies to be used in the follow-up period. When she has successfully reintegrated the workplace, she might decide to continue processing different aspects of her childhood. It is very possible that bullying occurred at early stages of development and those events need to be understood and healed.

Read:
http://aunomdelasante.blogspot.ca/2012/06/tunnel-therapy-is-powerful-tool-to.html

Message de Lorraine Loranger

Our fast-moving modern lives prevent us from following our natural rhythm. Based on hyperactivity, competition, and will, we hold in contempt our fatigue and stress. As we go beyond, producing efforts upon efforts, we buck up, we hang on, we persist and end up...exhausted.

Let us say that I have a philosophy for doing the work I do and the way I do it. Accounts of significant events in the life of the narrator have a plot, which is less often chronological and more often arranged according to a principle determined by the nature of the help the person needs. It is non-conventional: narration in the sense that it is used here deals with time, description, as well as context.