Mental Health in the Pandemic

Mental Health in the Pandemic 

Over the past few months, there has been much discussion in the media about the mental health impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Several studies have recently charted the marked decline in people’s mental health, raising awareness of the emotional, social, and cognitive challenges that people are increasingly facing. 

And whether it’s being more socially isolated, having an excessive workload, or dealing with change and uncertainty, few have been untouched by the ongoing circumstance. What’s more, it’s often the case that people who need help don’t receive it soon enough, either because they don’t realize that their feelings are severe enough and so soldier on, or because they are reluctant to seek out help because of perceived stigma. 

Spotting mental health challenges.  

Unlike physical health, where there are often precise diagnostics that can tell you what’s wrong and what medication might help, mental health is an entirely different story. To start with, there are no clear boundaries between what’s considered “healthy” and what’s considered “ill” when it comes to mental health. 

What’s more, it’s often not just the presence of symptoms that is an important marker, but the degree to which those symptoms impact your ability to work effectively, to chat with friends and family, to enjoy the small (and big) things in life. And so two people can have the same set of symptoms, but what is manageable for one person, might be incapacitating for another. 

At work, with many people working remotely, or in a socially distanced manner, it is easy to hide difficult feelings when your only social contact is via video meetings. Vice versa, without the daily face to face contact that people have within an office environment or equivalent, it is more difficult to spot when colleagues are experiencing challenges to their mental health. Being vigilant and sensitive to the challenges that colleagues are facing is key to getting through this difficult phase and collectively maintaining everyone’s mental health and well-being. 

Furthermore, as organizations are introducing new ways of working as they adapt to the situation, ensuring that the mental well-being of all employees is factored in, is key to building a resilient workforce for the future. 

Ways to strengthen your wellbeing.  

There are many things that you can do to strengthen your wellbeing. Here are three things that we think are important if you are currently having difficulties with your mental health and wellbeing: 

1)   Take it one day at a time. Thinking about the future and the uncertainty it holds can be severely overwhelming. Uncertainty is fear-inducing to your brain, so focusing on the here and now and taking each day as it comes allows you to stick with what is more concrete and certain, and in turn, helps keep your emotions more under control. 

2)   Focus on the small pleasures in life by being in nature. With so many negative stories in the media, it is often difficult to see where in the world, there is happiness. But there are many moments in the day that can bring joy and one place to find these is by being out in nature. There is considerable evidence showing how being in nature, even just for a few minutes a day, can help enhance wellbeing and relieve stress in the moment. 

3)   Seek help if you feel you need it. Beyond the traditional routes of seeking help via your GP, there are now also many places online where you can find professional help. And whether it is just a personal issue that you want to talk to someone about, or whether you are experiencing more severe mental health symptoms, there are options for all. Searching online reveals many of the options available to try out. 

As with all major changes in life, whether getting married, moving house, or having children, we are often faced with circumstances that require us to reevaluate our choices, our daily structure, and our living and work setup. The pandemic is also a situation that is forcing change on all of us, causing immense levels of stress for many. This will continue to have consequences for individuals and organizations for many months and years to come. 

Although traditionally organizations have focused on physical health as a way of ensuring and improving work performance, mental health and wellbeing management should now be central to any strategy that aims to sustain or improve employee productivity and engagement, ensuring the continued success and performance of an organization’s most valuable asset - their workforce. 

Now through September 5th, I have a free course on Linkedin Learning called Supporting Your Mental Health While Working From Home. Over 5000 people have taken the course.

If you would like to chat to us more about how you can help ensure the mental wellbeing of your employees during the pandemic and beyond, then please get in touch with us at Synaptic Potential.