The world Health Organisation describes Mental Health as:
“A state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”
1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life. My opinion is that this figure is likely much higher than this with many more people affected. Although mental health problems are very common most of them are mild, don’t last for long and are effectively treated with psychological interventions, self-help techniques and sometimes medication, or for some people a combination of these. Mental Health is about the way we think and feel and can affect our behaviour. Poor Mental Health changes the way that we function which has a further impact on how we feel and how we manage our lives. Work is often a very big part of our lives. How work is for us will directly impact on our mental health. Having a role that you enjoy and that you are committed and invested in can be really good for your mental health. The Mental Health Foundation identifies the following things that can also be helpful;
• Talking about how we feel
• Taking exercise
• Having a healthy diet
• Keeping alcohol to a minimum
• Having positive relationships
• Telling someone you are struggling
• Having breaks away from work
• Having meaningful activities and things in your life that you enjoy
• Be happy with who you are
• Caring for others
People with the same mental health problems can behave in different ways and to a lesser or greater extent. This means that the workplace support should be individualised to the persons needs. Employers have a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments for people with mental health problems- even if they have not been formally identified as having a disability. It is good practice to make relevant changes to the work environment to support people struggling with their mental health.
Depression/Low Mood
Everyone feels sad at times, it is a normal part of life. Being depressed means that you feel low in mood (sad) for most of the time. This can include feelings of numbness, hopelessness and not getting the pleasure from the things that we normally would. It can also mean that we struggle to do the things that would not normally be a problem such as looking after ourselves, working, shopping and being able to function socially. Depression can result in the person becoming isolated and withdrawn. It can also affect peoples concentration, memory, appetite and sleep. Depression can come about for many different reasons. It is often associated with difficult life events such as loss of a loved one, bullying, poverty, divorce and trauma. It can be triggered by the stress associated with these events and is more likely if there have been a series of different stressful events.
People with long term chronic physical health problems are also more likely to experience low mood and depression. Hormones can trigger a depressive episode, this could be following birth or during the menopause. When people feel depressed they often struggle to tell someone and talk about what is going on for them, this can make the situation worse. Despite this the person should not be pressured into talking if they don’t feel they can, this could make them feel worse. Building trust with the person and offering understanding and an empathetic approach is crucial for recovery. There are various different things that can help someone recover from depression. These include talking about the things that are impacting on us, changing the way we think, changing the way we do things (including learning new skills such as mindfulness and meditation) and sometimes medication.
Anxiety
Anxiety is the body’s response to stressful situations. It is normal to feel a certain level of anxiety. It becomes a problem when we cannot control the level of worry. Anxiety can develop for different reasons, some of the causes are phobias, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) panic disorder and acute stress. Anxiety can be felt as part of other mental health problems, for example depression, eating disorders and psychosis. If someone around you is anxious you may notice that they are unable to relax and show tension. They may be on edge a lot of the time and describe a feeling of dread. They may have panic attacks, dizziness, tiredness, racing heart, irritability, difficulty concentrating be shaky and trembling. They may also have a dry mouth, feel sick and have headaches. They may also ask for lots of reassurance from others. Treatment for anxiety can be really effective. Mindfulness, meditation, healthy lifestyle (avoiding drugs, alcohol and stimulants) exercise and breathing excercises. Graded exposure is also really effective if helping with a specific fear.
Psychosis
Psychosis is a term used to describe a loss of sense of perception. This may mean the person sees things, hears things, see things or smell that others do not. This becomes a problem when it causes the person distress. The most common psychotic symptom is hearing voices. The person might experience delusional ideation, this means that their thought process has changed and they do not appear to be in touch with reality. An example of this could be believing that people are trying to control you or that people are talking about you when they are not. The person may experience paranoid ideas that people are trying to harm them. It can also result in the person feeling confused by the world around them and not being able to make sense of their experiences causing anxiety and fear. People may also experience something called “negative symptoms” this can include poor motivation, losing interest in things, taking care of oneself and isolating oneself from others.
Autism/ASD
Autism is a neuro-developmental problem and not a mental health problem, however people with autism are at much higher risk of developing a mental health problem. It is thought that around 7/10 people with autism have a mental health problem such as anxiety or depression. Autism can mean that the person struggles with both verbal and non-verbal communication. And social interactions. The person may have repetitive behaviours and struggle with sensory responses. People with autism may also have ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or obsessive tendencies. There is no difference with treatment for people with autism, however it is important that the person helping the individual has an understanding of autism and how to make reasonable adjustments that will help the person.
Eating Disorders
As I mention in my bio I have a lot of experience working with people with eating disorders. This was in my role as Specialist Practitioner for Eating Disorders between 2014-2018. I still have involvement in this area and keep my skills up by being part of the regional eating disorder forum. I have specialist training with MANTRA (Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults) and also ENB N46 Care and Understanding of people with Eating Disorders. What I find very sad is that within the health service the patient must fit a certain criteria to access services for treatment for an eating disorder, often being signposted to online support services or self-help resources. This is not effective for everyone with an eating disorder and can often mean that the person deteriorates in their mental health before treatment is offered.
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