Mental Health Awareness Month: It’s Okay to Not be Okay!

Lenny Mendonca, the former chief economic and business advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom in the US, abruptly resigned from his position during the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He later spoke about hospitalization due to depression and discussed his diagnosis of anxiety and depression publicly. He mentions how his friends warned him about this, calling it the end of his career.?

Reflecting on his experiences and penning his side of the narrative, he wrote, “I am sharing my story because we have too few business and public leaders making public space to discuss mental health, destigmatize professional shame and protect against the resulting economic impact it can have on people’s careers and our economy as a whole. He added -?

“The conversation is overdue and urgent.”?

How many of us have judged someone for going to therapy and seeking mental health support? Ascribed labels of ‘mental weakness’, dangerous', 'crazy', or 'incompetent'? The fear of seeking help due to self-stigma, social stigma, and infrastructural stigma (such as at workplaces) is immense. This Mental Health Awareness Month we talk about – destigmatizing therapy!?

Strong policies are required in place to destigmatize mental health at workplaces and create an environment conducive to employee well-being. Transparency and firmness are required in terms of establishing that mental health stigma falls under the scope of workplace discrimination. Employees and managers should be active participants in the implementation of these policies and need to start questioning the implicit stigma that may be evident in workplaces.?

‘One of the most depressed countries in the world’ was how WHO had talked about the worsening mental health crisis in India 2018-2019. The National Mental Health Survey found that up to 83% of people dealing with mental health issues don’t get the help they need. This remains true despite the increasing conversation and discourse regarding mental health, and the attempts to destigmatize it through art mediums.?

The lack of access and affordability of mental healthcare is a crisis most individuals face when they may perhaps even think about seeking help. The cost of a one-hour therapy session in metros and tier 2 cities ranges from Rs 1,000- Rs 3,000. This becomes a big deterrent for those seeking help, as 80% of the patients do not have health insurance or it may not cover therapeutic expenses. Organizations need to offer comprehensive policies and coverage that allow access to mental and physical healthcare. Furthermore, flexible long and short-term leave options should be available for employees.????

Mental health conditions cost companies money directly and indirectly, and more expensively, from increased physical healthcare expenditures, turnover, and diminished productivity. There exists a need to create and mobilize resources for holistic employee well-being. The four prongs that employers can look to target this month include the following.?

• Availability of Mental Healthcare Support and Services, such as having in-house therapists and professionals?
• Awareness about Mental Healthcare Support and Services, through workshops, webinars, and training on mental health concerns
• Affordability of the Mental Healthcare and Services, by providing coverage and support for expenses towards mental healthcare
• Accessibility to the Mental Healthcare Support and Services, through employee-friendly policies with flexible leaves and no stigma against mental health??

These services form the foundation of the Employee Assistance Programs that center employee comfort and convenience by ensuring flexibility and user-friendly systems. Providing unlimited sessions with experienced counselors is also a central tenet of such programs. At Headsup Corporation, our Employee Assistance Programs incorporate this along with the generation of structured usage data and communication collaterals.?

If organizations intervene in the workplace in ways that improve employee well-being, the investments will create real-time impacts on employee outcomes and company performance. Employees demand this structural support that stigmatizes therapy and encourages open communication regarding mental health. Gift your employees the freedom and support to seek therapy this Mental Health Month, and create policies that support employee well-being!