Musings | Spotlight on Mental Health
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation”
Wednesday, January 26, is Bell Let’s Talk Day. The Let’s Talk awareness campaign focuses on creating conversations about mental health to reduce stigma and promote awareness and understanding. We know addressing mental health can be challenging, as noted by Deborah Grason Riegel, author and professor. “Talking about mental health can feel tricky at best and terrifying at worst. And it becomes a vicious cycle — the less people talk about it at work (even when they know they and others are struggling), the more the stigma grows. To break this cycle, you have to address the issue proactively, strategically, and thoughtfully. After all, the way we talk to others who are dealing with anxiety (and to ourselves) has a major impact on how we feel.”
With some help from the Canadian Mental Health Association, let’s review a few terms related to mental health.
Remember, in any given year, one in five people in Canada will experience a mental health problem or illness - that is a lot of us!
Mental Illness vs. Mental Health Concern
There is a difference between a mental illness and a mental health concern. A mental illness is a diagnosed disorder of thought, mood, or behaviour that has been present for an extended period (is not transient) and causes significant distress to the individual. Mental illnesses impact someone’s ability to function day-to-day and cause disturbances to thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. A mental health concern is a concern held by the individual due to a perceived deficit in mood or thought that is distressing but has not necessarily been present for an extended period.
Physical, social, and mental factors all contribute to our overall health and impact our mental health. Someone with a mental illness can have good mental health - just as someone with diabetes can live a healthy life, and someone who does not have a mental illness can have poor mental health - just like someone who does not have a disease or health concerns can be unhealthy.
What Talking About Mental Health At Work Includes & What It Does Not
Talking about Mental Health At Work Does Not Mean . . .
That you need to share intimate details about your life or your situation, or that your colleagues need to share that information with you. It does not mean you need to probe someone sharing information for more details or that you need to have an answer for them. It does not mean that your experience (or lack of experience) with mental health or mental illness is the same as others.
Talking about Mental Health At Work Means . . .
It is ok to tell a leader or a trusted colleague that you need additional support or that you are not ok. It means that you can direct others to existing support like an EAP program or community resources. It means that you can bring up a mental health concern without feeling like you will be judged or told you are faking it. It means that trusted colleagues and leaders will make space for a conversation about mental health and actively listen to your concerns. It means the organization understands that mental health is essential to overall well-being and part of being human.
How To Talk About Mental Health At Work
Victoria Maxwell, a playwright with lived experiences involving bipolar disorder, anxiety, psychosis, and recovery, created a framework that outlines the steps we can take to support and address a colleague facing a mental health issue. The framework is called O.A.R.S. (Observe, Ask + Actively Listen, Refer and Support). You can read about it in detail here. In addition, we’ve reviewed several resources and created a how-to guide for mental health discussions; you can check it below, along with links to additional resources that outline how to have meaningful conversations about mental health.
Breathe. It is ok to feel awkward and uncomfortable; sometimes, these conversations are tough. You don’t need answers for the person sharing their concern. Your job is to listen and support them. Once you have heard what they say, you can always return to them with resources and solutions.
Remember, Health Is Holistic. Mental health and physical health are essential, and both contribute to our well-being. When speaking with someone about their mental health, you may want to create a context where you both feel more comfortable by asking them to let you know if you are overstepping. We would not hesitate to follow up with a colleague about a broken leg or a sore back, so it is ok to talk about mental health too.
Be present. Opening up about a mental health concern can be really hard. If someone has approached you about their mental health or arranged a meeting to speak about it, take steps to be fully present and attentive to what they are saying. Turn off or stow away your phone, turn off your computer or minimize open windows and silence notifications. Just focus on the person and what they are sharing.
Listen. Demonstrate open body language (uncross your arms, look at the person while they are speaking, make eye contact). Do more listening than talking and listen without distraction and judgment. Listen for themes (i.e., feeling isolated, family stress, financial stress) and for understanding, as opposed to specific details - don’t push the person to share more than they want to. Try to listen with your eyes and ears; sometimes, facial expressions can express more about how someone is feeling than what they are saying.
Pause. Ask one question at a time and allow for breaks between questions and answers, so the other person has time to think and consider their response (and you have the opportunity to do the same). Do not interrupt someone when they speak about personal or sensitive topics - keep the conversation focussed on them and take their concerns seriously.
Say Thank You and Provide Support. Thank the person for trusting you with their concerns, but don’t make a big deal out of it. Reassure them that you will keep the request confidential or determine together who else needs to be informed. Ask them what they need in the short term (i.e., immediately) and the long term in terms of support. If the person needs to leave the office, be sure that they can do so privately. If others need to know that they left, only communicate that the reason for their departure was private. If your organization has benefits that support mental health, like an EAP or a connection to counselors, provide those links and contacts.
Follow Up and Ask For Help. It is not your job to be the person’s Physician or Counselor. Still, you can follow up with the person to see how they are doing and provide them with additional resources or support options you may not have been aware of at your initial meeting. Follow up with HR or other appropriate (while respecting confidentiality) leaders and colleagues to create a plan to support the individual. Anonymously, follow up with all colleagues and staff to reiterate the importance of talking about mental health and seeking support when it is needed.