One in five Australian workers are currently impacted by mental illness.
One in five Australian workers are currently impacted by mental illness, either suffering themselves or caring for a loved one who is suffering. Yet, most are suffering in silence because we still believe that a mental health illness can be equated to mental incapacitation.
I have suffered from chronic depression for all of my adult life. I currently take medication to help manage the situation and despite tackling a stressful job, I am confident that I am winning this fight. However, until very recently my depression was my secret. It was something I felt that if I shared then I would be judged negatively. Yet, depression does not change my cognitive ability, my ability to problem solve, to build relationships or to face the challenges of life. If anything, depression has helped me to understand my own emotions, which in turn has helped me with everything I do everyday in my job and as a person.
Changing the face of mental illness from something that is a secret because of the potential stigma associated with the unknown into something that is understood and supported is critical to helping all the Australians dealing with mental illness.
We know that mental health is a continuum and we are all on the continuum. Some days we are higher up the continuum and some days we are lower down the continuum.
We know that the triggers that help us to be higher up the continuum are diet, exercise, sleep and stress. We know that managing these will help us in our physical and mental health every day. We also know that being in relationship with others who care about us will have a massive impact on our mental wellbeing.
I know that my depression is not something I can control, but it is something I can manage. I don’t understand why I have depression or what causes it for me – the medication I take has been a bit of trial and error to find what works. But I do know that it doesn’t actually change who I am or what I am capable of doing.
I manage my mental health by
- Eating healthy food
- Not drinking alcohol, coffee, etc.
- Actively participating in athletics
- Training with a group of people
- Maintaining a regular nightly bed time
- Maintaining a regular daily wake time and morning routine
- Being aware of all the things that cause stress in my life and trying to manage them as best I can
- Talking to my wife, my friends and my medical team
- Building up a network of people who support me in my fight.
These are the choices that I have made to put me in the best mental health possible. None of them are difficult things to do, some of them are less enjoyable but the outcomes of choosing them make them definitely worthwhile. I also know that the choices about having relationships with others who I let know the real me is actually the biggest benefit in my battle with mental illness.
In my day job at Tonkin, I am fortunate because I can influence the environment in which I work. I have chosen to talk about my battles to make it OK for people to also talk about what they are dealing with. As a business, we are also helping our leaders learn how to have a conversation with someone who is struggling. We are trying to build a culture inside our business where people are genuinely cared for and supported to be the best that they can be. We know that if we can provide an environment where everyone is treated as an individual and everyone has someone that they can turn to for support, then we are giving people the ability to build their own support networks.
We are making changes to our business to give our employees choices associated with having a healthy diet, increasing exercise and managing stress. By providing options we are giving our people the chance to make good choices. However, everything we can do as a business doesn’t actually do it for an individual. Making changes to help your mental health is something that only you can do.
As we build our understanding of mental health and what helps people to be as mentally healthy as possible, we also can help businesses respond. Ultimately, we can offer support but the only person who can make the changes to be mentally health is you.
I choose to be alive for my wife and for my children – that means I choose to make changes to be healthy.
What do you choose?