Workplace

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Depression

What is depression?

There is a difference between feeling low and being clinically depressed, how I hear you say, well let me explain.

Most people go through periods of feeling down, but when you’re clinically depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days.

They range from lasting feelings of unhappiness and hopelessness, to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and feeling very tearful. Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety. So sometimes it can feel like your “get up and go, gets up and buggers off”.

Other symptoms of depression could include –

  • Continuous low mood or sadness 
  • Feeling hopeless and helpless 
  • Having low self-esteem  
  • Feeling tearful 
  • Feeling guilt-ridden 
  • Feeling irritable and intolerant of others  
  • Having no motivation or interest in things 
  • Finding it difficult to make decisions 
  • Not getting any enjoyment out of life 
  • Feeling anxious or worried
  • Having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming yourself

Half of the battle is understanding what is going on for you and that you are not alone there are people you can speak to and places you can go so you don’t feel alone in your struggle. People don’t tend to feel low for no reason and sometime it could be down to a medical issue so something completely out of your hands.

If you feel like your depressed the first point of call is go make an appointment at you GPs, this is what they get paid for so don’t ever feel like your wasting their time they want you to go to them this is what they trained for remember.

Lets look at this differently ok, if you broke your leg would you seek medical help ? if you had the flu or a chest infection would you seek medical help ?? IT’S THE SAME THING !! just because you cant see it, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist

What Can I do To Help Myself??

1) Don’t bottle things up – find someone to talk to about how you are feeling.
2) Make sure you get plenty of exercise and plenty of fresh air. You will find that even if you do a quick walk every day and a short period of other exercise each day you will start to feel physically and emotionally stronger and more able to cope.
3) Make sure you eat a healthy balanced diet – eat little and often and don’t skip meals. If you are not eating properly you will feel more depressed and listless.
4) Try and keep busy – to keep your mind occupied.
5) Do things you enjoy to relax, treat yourself and take care of yourself.
6) Try and get to bed at a regular time. If you find it difficult to sleep listen to the radio/TV/read and you may find you drop off to sleep more easily.
7) Don’t resort to unhealthy ways of dealing with your problems like drinking, taking drugs, cutting, eating disorders.
8) Ask for help when you need it.
9) Try to stop thinking in a negative way – when you think a negative thought try and replace it with a positive one.
10) If you need a hug ask someone you trust – this can make you feel that someone really does care how you are feeling.

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Men & Mental Health

Men & Mental Health

While mental illnesses affect both men and women, the prevalence of mental illnesses in men is often lower than women. Men with mental illnesses are also less likely to have received mental health treatment than women in the past year. However, men are more likely to die by suicide than women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recognising the signs that you or someone you love may have a mental disorder is the first step toward getting treatment. The earlier that treatment begins, the more effective it can be.

I was made aware recently by a male family member however they don’t feel this way but he could see how sometimes men may feel the fear of people perceiving them as weak if they are open about there struggles around mental health. Some of the statements over the years like “grow a set of balls” and “Man up” come to mind all these add to the stigma around men and mental health. What some people tend to forget is even though they have testicles they are human too!

We need to let the guys know that their feelings matter too, think about it this way what if a guy said to you that you should woman up? That your feelings aren’t as important as a mans oh wait does this sound familiar like before when woman weren’t allowed to vote, we argue that women should be on the same pay as men yet when it comes to mental health we set ourselves apart again. Ask yourself this are we stuck in the dark ages when it comes to men and mental health well surprise-surprise it’s the 21st century and men matter too lets look and mental health equal rights because regardless of gender mental health affects us all at some point in our lives.

Ways you can help yourself

  1. Talking to someone you trust, a close friend or family member, maybe even your doctor/therapist
  2. Considering why you find it uncomfortable asking for help and whether those reasons are actually stopping you from getting the support you need
  3. Reading more about mental health and the varied guidance and advice that is easily accessible (online articles maybe?)
  4. Maybe consider what are your weapons in this fight (i.e. the ways you combat poor mental health) – it could be anything from regular exercise to spending time with friends (for me, creative writing helps to lift me during the darker days)
  5. Finding stories and case studies that will help you understand what other men have been through
  6. Getting involved in the great campaigns and activities that raise awareness of mental health – look campaign State of mind which is about men’s mental health which will give you a sense of empowerment

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Self-Care

What is self-care?

Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it sounds simple enough, in theory, it’s something we very often overlook as life gets in the way. Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with yourself and others.

Although self-care means different things to different people, having a checklist can be really beneficial:

  1. How about creating a “no” list, with things you know you don’t like or you no longer want to do. Examples might include: Not checking emails at night, not attending gatherings you don’t like, not answering your phone during lunch/dinner- as what you want is important to look at it this way would you force some to do something they didn’t want to do?
  2. Promote a nutritious, healthy diet. You cant run a car on no fuel, can you?
  3. Get enough sleep. Adults usually need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation is not good and this can definitely impair mood and thought processes
  4. Exercise. In contrast to what many people think, exercise is as good for our emotional health as it is for our physical health. It increases serotonin levels, leading to improved mood and energy. In line with the self-care conditions, what’s important is that you choose a form of exercise that you like! I am a big believer that physical health impacts mental health.
  5. Follow-up with medical care. It is not unusual to put off checkups or visits to the doctor. This is to also eliminate and medical issues that may be impacting your mental health for instance hormone changes can impact mood
  6. Use relaxation mindfulness and meditation exercises and/or practice meditation. You can do these exercises at any time of the day. There are apps and worksheets that we as therapists provide
  7. Spend enough time with your loved ones. This can build on confidence and self-esteem
  8. Do at least one pleasurable activity every day; from going to the cinema, to cooking or meeting with friends. If you’re creative maybe painting, pottery, knitting or even something as simple as singing this all adds to endorphin release
  9. Look for opportunities to laugh! They do say laughter is the best medicine
  10. Set up a 15-day self-care routine and see how you feel before and after. And never forget: As with everything, self-care takes practice!

Also remember YOU’RE IMPORTANT TOO!

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Overthinking ?

The Effects of Worrying and Overthinking

With the Covid-19 situation, I have witnessed numerous individuals going through periods of overthinking and worrying. I have already written about anxiety, and how Covid-19 has created trauma for many, however, overthinking is just as common, unfortunately. This article will give you an idea of what overthinking is, why we worry too much, and how we can stop ourselves right in our tracks when we notice that we are overthinking and worrying too much.

What is overthinking?

The term overthinking is used to describe a psychological pattern in which an individual becomes fixated on an issue and does not take any time to process the information that is presented to them. Many people are guilty of overthinking at one point or another. There are a number of different types of overthinking, but the main type is when you begin to think that it makes sense to think about a particular issue obsessively rather than engaging with the information you have on hand. You might feel as if it is better to wait and see how things go before you make any decisions and end up thinking about the potential consequences obsessively. 

Worrying Too Much Is Bad for Your Mental Health

Worrying is a natural and normal thing, and it happens to everyone at some point. The thing that individuals often do not realize is that by worrying too much, however, they can actually be doing themselves a disservice. By worrying too much about the things they have no control over, you are increasing your level of stress and anxiety, two things that have negative impacts on your psyche and on your mental health. When you realize that you are the one making yourself overthink and worry about a problem, you can start to identify the source of this stress and can act on it. 

Take a moment to ask yourself a few questions. For example, is the problem and are the consequences as terrible as you think? Are you being rational about the situation, or is your reaction purely emotional? Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about feeling emotions, that is normal. However, if you let them get over the rational side of things, you may begin to worry too much about things that really aren’t all that dramatic. This creates a vicious cycle in which you worry, then feel even more stressed about these worries, only to increase your stress further. Read more about what you can do to avoid the detrimental effects of overthinking here.

Do you feel like you overthink or are your worries taking over your daily activities? Reach out today for a free 15-minute consultation to hear more about what you can do to change this. 

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Misconceptions About Mental Illness

Misconceptions About Mental Illness

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions around mental health. For example, many tend to think that those who deal with mental health problems are simply unable to feel better, or that they should “try” to just “get over” depression. However, it is not that easy. This article will be looking at three common misconceptions about mental illness.

“It’s Not Serious“

The first common misconception about mental illness is that it is nothing serious, or that it is easy to get rid of. How many times have you told someone about this illness and have received an underwhelming response or a response that insinuated that you simply needed to get over it? It is extremely frustrating, especially when it comes to the fact that mental illness can be all-encompassing and therefore can make you feel like nothing you do will help. Because of this, it’s important to remember that the feelings and the experience with mental illness are valid.

“You Could Get Better if You Really Wanted To”

Another very common myth is that people who deal with mental illness are simply “faking it” or that they could simply get better if they really wanted to. In such cases, it is incredibly frustrating to see individuals struggling with these stereotypes; after all, if one could so easily get over mental illness, why would they purposely choose not to? Again, your mental illness and experience with it are completely valid. Perhaps you have been struggling with mental health issues due to Covid-19 and feel guilty as you think your condition isn’t “bad enough” for you to get help? This is not the case– mental health is ALWAYS important!

“It’s Your Fault”

There is not much to say about this one other than that it is never your fault if a person is in crisis with mental illness. No matter how much they may feel like blaming themselves, mental illness is something that impacts many, if not most people at one point in their life. And, it’s never their fault.

Myths and misconceptions about mental health are often related to the stigma that surrounds mental disorders. This is a common problem that can prevent many individuals from getting the treatment they need. Misconceptions about mental health often lead to inaccurate stereotypes. In addition, stereotypes about mental disorders can further marginalize and isolate individuals who suffer from mental disorders. This can result in them having difficulties relating to others and feeling less comfortable about going to social functions and being around large groups of people. On that note, this concludes this week’s article.

Have you been struggling? Reach out today to get the help you deserve

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How to Deal with Work-Related Stress and Anxiety.

How to Deal with Work-Related Stress and Anxiety

Work stress is an all to real threat to everyone who works in a stressful work environment. Stress at the workplace has the potential to seriously damage your health and also a persons physical – can even lead to serious emotional and psychological problems. Work-related stress can be crippling to both the employees that are under it and the employers. While some may simply “deal with it” and ignore it for the short term, one should realise that this is not always the best situation and should try to take steps to reduce one’s stress levels.

Workplace-Related Stress: Can You Change It?

There are several ways to reduce stress in the workplace. One of these is by turning to your co-workers for support. The key to reducing stress in the workplace is to listen carefully to your co-workers’ needs and stresses/worries, as well as to the needs and stresses/worries of your superiors, and to rationalise this; for example, how much of this stress is something that is mostly emotional and which can be rationalised into something much smaller? Often, when we are stressed, we tend to think that things that are very stressful are extremely worrying. If you find what is the cause of your stress, bring it up. Explain why this is a problem and you will find a solution. If you realise that the workplace itself is problematic, then this is a different story

Support Group

Having a strong support group at work is a great way to relieve your stress as you feel like the group will be there to make you feel better if it’s needed, as is making time for occasional fitness activities. If you need to take a break from work for an extended period of time, consider scheduling time at a local gym to get some exercise, as well as find some downtime. Keep in mind that using a routine is also helpful. For example, if you work at a place that requires a uniform, don’t go to work wearing it. Change once you get there to mark a clear difference between your life and your work; this can be a part of your routine.

Positive Mindset

Another way to reduce work-related stress is by looking for ways to improve your self-talk in order to reduce the impact of work-related stress on you. Try to maintain a positive attitude towards your work, and work hard at getting through the difficult times; remind yourself that this is all temporary. If it is not temporary, ask yourself where you can make changes. Pinpoint where the stress is rooted and if you can change things in order to alleviate this situation. Remember that we tend to make things appear much worse than they really are. Think about the situation rationally and question whether you feel as if this is all terrible and stressful only because you are very stressed, or whether this is truly the case. Also remember as Albert Einstein said “When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change”. 

Work-Related Anxiety

The benefits of maintaining a positive attitude to stress are clear: It reduces the negative effects of stress on your health and well being. But when it comes to anxiety, it can feel like no matter what you’re doing, nothing is helping. The best thing that a person suffering from anxiety can do to alleviate their symptoms is to seek professional help. There are various types of treatment available for people who suffer from anxiety, it is therefore important for them to find out what type of treatment is suitable for them. If this is your case, you should find out about the different types of treatments available for your specific condition. Once you’ve found this out, you can work with your health specialist, therapist, psychologist, or coach to reduce the impacts of work anxiety on your life. 

Does that sound like something you are dealing with? If so, reach out for help today.