Enjoy this week’s guest post by Bill Bernat, speaker and author, on the topic of mental health and the work place!
After nearly a year, you’re probably feeling a little ragged from the relentless isolation. Depression and anxiety are more common than ever. Yet the stigma of mental health conditions creates disconnection at a time when people really need connection. Though workplaces are increasingly accepting and inclusive, people often don’t know to talk to a coworker experiencing depression or anxiety.
It’s an awkward topic that can scare people for a lot of reasons. I specialize in helping people talk about depression and anxiety more easily and comfortably. In this blog, I’ll share a few tips that might help you connect with coworkers experiencing these conditions.
Use Person-First Language
Different mental health advocacy organizations offer guidelines for what to say and what not to say. I’ll just give you two things to remember:
- Use person-first language
- Don’t stress too much about words
Person-first language is simple. Talk about a person first, and their diagnosis secondarily. For example, you wouldn’t say “John is cancer.” The same is true for mental health conditions.
Can you imagine saying, “John is an anxiety disorder?” Of course not, but people do say things like “John is bipolar.” Instead, try “John has an anxiety disorder” or “John has bipolar.” Don’t copy my words verbatim. Use your own words. Just try to talk about people primarily and their mental health conditions secondarily.
Also, don’t stress out too much about whether to use words like “mental illness” versus “mental health condition” because people don’t care that much. I’ve interviewed and surveyed a lot of people in the workforce living with depression and anxiety.
There are no dominant trends in terms of what words people want you to say. For example, some prefer mental illness while some prefer mental health condition. Just as many don’t like any phrase that has the words “mental health” in it. The only common preference is that people want to know you are genuinely supportive on their side. Do that, and your words aren’t as important.
Start by Agreeing
This seems kind of obvious, but it’s important so I’m going to clarify.
Somebody might have a reason for their depression or anxiety that sounds ridiculous to you. But there will be something in their experience to agree with. In the cartoon above, you could agree that insomnia is no fun instead of arguing that it’s stupid to get upset about the Baxterman project.
Don’t Try to Fix People
People would talk about their feelings much more easily and openly at work if they knew that their coworkers wouldn’t try to fix them. It’s counterintuitive because at work we’re often expected to fix things.
If somebody does open up to you, there’s no pressure on you to fix them! You probably can’t fix them, and they probably don’t want you to try. Just listen. Or, if you’re not sure, you can ask, “Do you want me to just listen or give you advice?”
Learn as You Go
According to the World Health Organization, mental health conditions cost businesses $1 trillion per year. Simply talking about these struggles with workers isn’t going to solve those life challenges. But it can help by increasing peoples’ willingness to get treatment, creating closer bonds between team members, and improving productivity.
If you’d like a lot more tips, you can view an on-demand video called “Talkward” and a download survey of people in the workplace living with depression and anxiety at talkwardlive.com.
We provide some helpful guidance in a lot of different areas. Also, though, it’s something you can do right now without a bunch of guidance. You already know how to talk to people. I’m just suggesting you take a little more time to talk about depression and anxiety when the opportunity arises. It’s an easy way to have more human connection in your life.
Bill Bernat helps HR/DEI departments, team managers, and individuals relieve the isolating impacts of extended remote working through casual offerings that create more human connection. Bill is a TED speaker, The Moth Radio Hour storyteller, and certified speaker coach specializing in talks about depression and anxiety. He leads storytelling workshops and events for businesses, nonprofit organizations, and the general public. Bill got his start in IT working for NASA and ended it working 16hr days at a successful dot-com. He had a parallel odyssey through depression, addiction, social anxiety, and other islands of growth. After becoming a high achiever in the field of self-destruction, he built a new life clean (12yr). He learned how to live well with his bipolar 2 condition. He developed a new career in technology marketing, helping a tiny startup to seven years of consecutive growth. Bill’s TED talk on How to Connect with Depressed Friends has nearly 2 million views, and his Goalcast video on overcoming social anxiety has over 1 million. He performs an award-winning comedy show about depression and anxiety in the US and Canada. Bill’s media appearances include NPR and NBC. Bill created NAMI’s signature Brainpower Chronicles depression and anxiety storytelling series. He is also the resident speaker coach for The Stability Network. You can connect with Bill on LinkedIn where he is posting two learning serieses (public speaking about mental health and addiction, and how to normalize the conversation about mental health) or visit his website stayawesome.com.The post Mental Health and the Work Place – How to Talk to Your Coworkers appeared first on Melissa Forziat Events and Marketing.