By Rebecca Peterson, Director of House of Mercy
Caring for your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic many people have had the opportunity to work remotely from the comfort of their home. This change offered a new insight to mental health awareness within the workforce and an opportunity to put mental health needs first. Employers have found the benefit that mental health days offer their employees like the chance to reset from a stressful week and return energetic and productive.
Making behavioral health a priority
To make your behavioral health a priority, start by communicating with your employer what you need.
It takes each and every one of us knowing ourselves. Self-awareness helps recognize whether or not things are going well for you or if there's additional stress and symptoms that need some greater attention.
Asking for accommodations
When you step into your first job or a new job, employers often ask if there are accommodations you need. If those accommodations are behavioral health related, here are some tips to asking for your accommodations.
- Look at your benefits.
- Find out if you employer has an Employee Assistance Program or more formalized behavioral health therapy.
- Inform your supervisor if you have to leave early or work from home for health reasons.
- Don't be afraid to ask for accommodations or help!
Breaking down the stigma
The stigma around behavioral health is real and does prevent people from seeking help.
When becoming more open and honest about your behavioral health, it is important to keep in mind that receiving help does not mean something is wrong with you. The steps taken to better your behavioral health are positives and can benefit you most when looking at it in a positive perspective.
Behavioral health is a continuum, and at any point in life you may experience some symptoms from that. It’s something we all go through and the more that we discuss behavioral health, the more we can help to break down the stigma.
Taking action for better health
Breaking down the stigma around behavioral health doesn’t stop just with having conversation – action is needed.
Behavioral health concerns are not always visible. It can be especially hard in the workforce for a supervisor to notice this in an employee but even harder for that employee to talk about what has been going on. Here’s how you can start the conversation:
- Make it part of your regular meetings.
- Check in with your colleagues and employees.
- Have one-on-one conversations to build connections with one another.
Burnout and work-life balance
It can be hard to remember sometimes that you have other things going on besides work, especially if you have a high demanding job. However, being able to balance your work life and personal life is important to caring for your health.
In therapy we talk a lot about coping and developing your toolbox of different skills to learn what works best for you. A great resource is Burnout: the Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle because it talks a lot about how doing something for your body release that stress can break the cycle. It's going to look different for everyone, but connecting mind and body to find balance and release will help greatly.
Start this discussion by asking yourself “What does balance look like for me?” It will look different for each of us and can change over time, but the key is coming up with a plan that you will implement and sharing it with those around you to hold each other accountable.
