As the discussion about mental health becomes louder and more intensive, many have turned their attention to the role of maintaining and promoting mental health. Some have cited the workplace as a potential location of mental health risk factors. Employers have been sitting up and taking notice of this discussion. There is some evidence that, like physical health, mental health impacts what your employees bring to the office each and every day. If you want engaged, motivated, creative, and productive employees, looking after their mental health is one step in the right direction. After years of stigma, however, there are many misconceptions and myths about mental health. Here are a few of the most common misconceptions as they pertain to …show more content…
Depression is called the “common cold” of mental health issues because so many people experience it at some time in their lives. Anxiety disorders are on the rise. Stress is another incredibly common mental health issue in the workplace. Whether or not someone is actively dealing with a mental health issue right now doesn’t mean they don’t need to look after their mental health. Preventative care functions exactly the same in mental health as in physical health. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 2. You Can Tell When Someone Is Struggling Believe it or not, you may not know when someone is struggling with a mental health issue. Many disorders go undiagnosed or undetected. The person may actively try to hide their struggles. Many people cope with anxiety and depression on a regular basis, but they can effectively manage their mental health to function effectively. It’s one of the reasons mental health issues are often called a hidden epidemic. They can be very difficult to spot. Stigma attached to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues have also made it difficult to talk about them openly, which may be another reason someone doesn’t speak
Since it has become more understood better treatment plans have been created. There a various therapies and medications that can help manage mental health. However, there is an estimated 50 million people in America that has a mental disorder(s) and sadly only about 10 million will receive mental healthcare. Why is this? This happens simply because mental illness does not care who you are and how much money you do or do not have in the bank. Mental illnesses can effect anyone and it can be anyone of the numerous different psychological disorders. When mental illness effects a person it disrupts their whole life, this would include their daily living as well as effecting how preform at work. Take for instance, if they work a production job it can cause them not to make production. If they cannot function well enough to work at their required performance, then this could and probably would lead into them being fired from their job. Without a job they would not only lose their income but they would also have say bye-bye to their insurance plan as well. This would leave them without and mental healthcare. Did you know that if 50% of those with schizophrenia, 25% of those with anxiety disorders, 33% of those with depression are currently receiving successful treatment and the likely success rate will be around 80 to 90%? A number of people with
According to chapter twelve in “Work Accommodation and Retention in Mental Health” employers have an economic and a social interest in the mental health condition of their workers. There is recognition that the workplace environment can either help or hurt the productivity of long term employment which is why there has been a shift from a medical to social model of workplace health. As stated by Perez and Wilkerson “Fifty percent of those who miss work because of mental or emotional problems will take either 13 or more days off, or will never return to their jobs” (as cited in Work, 2010, pg. 295). Large multinational corporations like Johnson and Johnson have adopted ideas of keeping the workplace healthy with an understanding of the
There is a stigma surrounding seeking help for mental illness that needs to be broken. Mental illness is not to be taken lightly, it is a serious matter. These people need genuine help; help that they should be able to seek without having to worry about repercussions.
This is widely due to mass media creating a stigma for the mentally ill people that most of the general population tend to believe in the United States. I will begin with what I remember of my experience of learning I have mental health illness. I remember suffering heavily through my early teens to my twenties with depression. I had tried at that time just about every type of depression medication available and none of them worked for me. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that my depression just kind of went away.
In general, mental health has been defined as multifaceted based on six dimensions behavioral, cognitive, socio-political, effective, spiritual and psychological. In addition, mental health comprise of spiritual and emotional resilience that help an individual to continue surviving after sadness, disappointments and pains have occurred(Thomas, 2016). However, mental illness in refers to a mental health problem that involves the changes in
Imagine society blamed people for being diagnosed with illnesses such as cancer? Claiming that it was their choices in life that led to such an awful disease. To make them feel guilty of a situation that was in no way deserved by them. This happens all the time to victims of mental illness, but with the added burden of shame. Considering the shocking statistic that one in four will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year in the UK , why is it that we hardly hear of people suffering from mental illness? Why is it a cloud of judgment and misunderstanding still surrounds the subject? People with a mental disorder or with a history of mental health issues are continually ostracized by society. This results in it being more difficult than it already is for the mentally ill to admit their symptoms to others and to seek treatment. To towards understanding mental illness is to finally lift the stigma, and to finally let sufferers feel safe and accepted within today’s society.
This is because illnesses associated with the mental state have become more prevalent within corporate organizations and institutions. At the same time, managers as well as business owners have very little knowledge and understanding when it comes to accepting that mental illnesses exist in most workplaces. The author goes ahead to explain that it is often difficult to diagnose or identify an employee who suffers from a mental illness at work. Most patients and victims of such ailments are not willing to confess their conditions and they will often hide it from the rest of the
...f good health in both areas, and learn to take care of their bodies and brains by keeping active, sleeping properly, eating nutritiously, and taking time to relax. Furthermore, people should understand that moods matter, not just to mental health, but to phsyical health as well. If someone is suffering from and emotional illness such as depression or anxiety, they should seek treatment, since evidence is mounting that these conditions can lead to physical illness and a shorter life.
Mental health is just as important as physical health in a person’s life. Mental health is critical to a person’s well-being, their ability to live a productive life and to keep a healthy family and interpersonal relationships. Mental health does not just affect the mind it also affects people’s physical health. Some physical health diseases can cause a mental health disorder and vice versa. Mental health disorders are associated with the occurrence, development, and outcome of some of the today’s most chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. When people go untreated from a mental health disorder are at a higher risk for many unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, violent behavior, and suicide.
Increasingly, good mental health in the workplace is an issue being raised. Job stresses are being recognized as affecting work performance and also an individual’s over-all well-being. There is a lot of information available about how to promote good mental health in the workplace but perhaps insufficient initiatives actually being used. Providing employees with information promoting good mental health alerts them to the problems but may not achieve the solutions. Within the larger society good physical health is overwhelmingly accepted as the first step to good mental health. Can mental health issues in the workplace be addressed in the same way, by
Those are the some reason: “Frequent medical appointments, absences from work, medication side-effects, and difficulty communicating or interacting with others, trouble concentrating, problems following a particular schedule, stigma, prejudice and discrimination” The video calls what is So Funny about Mental Illness? Presented by Ruby Wax on TED talks said that “How come every other organ in your body can get sick and you get sympathy, except the brain?” When the person coughs or is bleeding everybody should pay attention and help them, but when they cannot see the illness or when it is about feeling people and society can be very insensitive and see it as a weakness or stigma. Not to mention, the stigma not only goes to the person with mental illness but also to their family members.
Mental Health is needed in the work place. Those who are mentally unstable cannot focus on their job. They also miss a lot of work because of this illness. “According to the CIPD’s absence report in 2011, one employee in five admit to absence that has not been caused by “genuine” ill health” (Harrington, 2012, p.1). The article Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way explains the history, definition, and importance of resilience. Resilience is defined as an attitude that enables the individual to examine, enhance and utilize strengths, characteristics, and other resources available to him or her. The more an individual receives positive encouragement the greater a person’s resilience becomes. They start to see the brighter side of things allowing them to push through any struggles they may encounter along the way. Another big part of developing resilience is the environment in which a person resides. If a person is surrounded by negativity they will likely remain negative. If a person fulfilled they will remain flexible to change and stay positive (Harrington, 2012).
In my community and school, mental health was never discussed until I was in high school, when I took a course in psychology and I learned about different mental illness, and I found many of them very interesting. One thing, I remember learning in high school was about Sybil and her mental illness. I do not think I am aware of the stigma associated with mental health issues in the circle that I travel in. I feel like in a way it is uncomfortable to talk about mental health, but also in a way it is not uncomfortable, because some people like to express what they are going through, and some people enhance the challenges they have in life. I think personally it is very uncomfortable, I know from experience, because people in my family tended to ignore the fact that someone was suffering from a mental illness, and do not want to talk about it. I think if I had mental illness I would be uncomfortable, because I was would feel like that people would judge me, because I am different and I would feel
It is deeply alarming that ignoring mental health is systematically ignored as an important part of health promotion. This is shocking because, in theory, mental health is recognized as an important component of health, the close link between physical and mental health is recognized, and it is generally known that physical and mental health share many of the same social, environmental and economic components. We know that facilities dedicated to those with mental health problems are more vulnerable to the resources of physical diseases in many parts of the world, and it is essential that mental health promotion should not be equally affected
Our society today does not value our mental health like it should. If society would only pay as much attention to mental health, they would be better off in the long run. Think about an athlete playing a sport, they certainly understand how important physical health is. When a baseball player injures his knee, he is out and waits until it heals. But like many people, mental health is overlooked. Most teenagers do not realize that the many things like stress or eating disorders are coming from a poor mental state. They think that if they just ignore it they will snap out of it, this is not true and many times this kind of thinking will only make it worse (Change Your Mind). Mental health is not seen as important as physical health due to misconceptions and stigma behind mental health patients. By increasing the importance of personal mental health, people can reduce issues associated with mental health problems and raise awareness for people who suffer from mental health issues.