World Mental Health Day 2024

“It is Time to Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace.” 💙

 

Let’s unite on World Mental Health Day to discuss mental health and emphasize its importance. Sharing our mental health experiences can help us navigate life’s challenges more effectively. So, consider contacting your friends, family, peers, or colleagues on World Mental Health Day and beyond.

Illustration of people with mental health problems

The World Federation of Mental Health has set this year’s theme on workplace mental health. It underscores the significance of promoting mental health and well-being in the workplace to benefit individuals, organizations, and communities.

Caring for the vulnerable can be both demanding and stressful. Work-related stress can impact your well-being, the quality of care and services you provide, and the well-being of your loved ones outside of work.

Managers and supervisors must identify signs of stress and implement changes in organizational policies and practices to alleviate job-related stress. Additionally, it’s beneficial for managers and employees to learn stress management techniques and know where to seek help.

Recognize the symptoms of stress in yourself and others.

  • Feeling irritated, angry, or in denial
  • Feeling uncertain, nervous, or anxious
  • Feeling helpless or powerless
  • Lacking motivation
  • Feeling tired, overwhelmed, or burned out
  • Feeling sad or depressed
  • Having trouble sleeping
  • Having trouble concentrating

Know about burnout:

Workers experiencing burnout often feel exhausted and cynical. Working in a distressing environment can strain a person’s physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. Workers with burnout are more likely to experience mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Burnout can also impact employee retention. Workers experiencing burnout may be less engaged and choose to leave their job or their profession altogether.

Tips to cope and enhance your resilience:
  • Communicate with your coworkers, supervisors, and employees about job stress. Portrait of beautiful bored businesswoman, leaning on her elbow in exhaustion
    • Talk openly about how job stress is affecting your well-being.
    • Identify factors that cause stress and work together to identify solutions.
    • Ask about how to access mental health resources in your workplace.
  • Identify and accept those things over which you do not have control.
  • Take breaks during your shift to rest, stretch, or check in with supportive colleagues, coworkers, friends, and family.
  • When away from work, get exercise when you can. Spend time outdoors, either physically active or relaxing. Do things you enjoy during non-work hours.
  • Learn healthy ways to cope with stress.

There are still many harmful attitudes and misunderstandings around mental illness, which may make people ignore their mental health, fuel stigma, and make it harder to reach out for help. Take the following quiz and see if you can separate the myths from the facts. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/quiz/index.htm

Reference: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Public health workers: Addressing mental health. CDC. Retrieved September 30, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/public-health-workers/index.html

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