Mentally Healthy Conversations. We all have something to say.

With close to 50% of Australians experiencing a mental health condition in their lifetime and one in five people experiencing a mental health issue in any year, mental health is everyone’s business.?

I have been talking mental health and work for decades now.?

First as a new graduate occupational therapist, delivering and improving pre-vocational programs for young people in adult mental health services. I managed one of the first specialist employment agencies in Brisbane supporting people with a lived experience of mental illness to find and keep employment, with a team of people with diverse experiences committed to delivering excellence, in what was then an emerging area of employment support (shout out to Dr Nerida Hillberg, Terry Symonds, Veronica O'Neill, Christine Randall)

I have published and spoke on the topic of ways to better support people experiencing mental health issues and living with complex mental health conditions to find and maintain employment.? I weaved mental health into coaching conversations with leaders with a focus on how to achieve without sacrificing wellbeing (this is what I call Burn Bright without Burning Out’. ?

In the team I lead we work together to create a culture where we speak a language of mental illness with openness, trust, vulnerability, inclusivity in our shared space of work.

?October is Mental Health Month, the 2023 theme for Queensland Mental Health week was ‘Awareness, Belonging, Connection’.? It is about connecting with the people in our lives and creating space for conversations around mental health and wellbeing.

This day in October, sharing an excerpt from my article vault on creating mentally healthy workplaces.? This article was first published almost 10 years ago in the Business Chicks Latte magazine and more recently I shared my key tips with readers of the Victorian Law journal (with my daughter Bella Gillett studying law, boosting wellbeing levels for those working in the legal sector matters to me).

Mentally Healthy Conversations. We all have something to say.

I applaud organisations that pull out all the ‘bells and whistles’ in offering programs and services designed to support all areas of their employees’ health, I believe the most significant thing a business can do to support the mental health of their people is to talk about the topic with confidence and sensitivity.

?In technical terms, people in business need to be mental health literate, having the knowledge and understanding of mental health issues which allow proper recognition, management and prevention.? Having a conversation is a two- way street.? Talking about mental health at work is a responsibility that is shared by the employer, employee and colleagues.?

For people living with mental health issues, it can be a struggle to have a conversation, with many people feeling nervous, burdened by stigma and not confident in finding a way to explain the condition and not causing ‘alarm bells’ to ring. It can be just as difficult for managers to have a conversation around issues of mental health, they experience worry about overstepping personal boundaries, saying the wrong thing, making the situation worse or opening up a ‘can of worms’ that they won’t be able to put the lid back on.

?Tips for talking about mental health at work.

?For employers and managers

• Have a conversation early.? Avoid waiting for an issue to become one of performance before raising the topic of mental health.
• Focus on behaviour that you are noticing instead of using words like ‘depression’ or ‘anxiety’ “I notice that you get very nervous when called upon to give your opinion in a meeting.”
• Make mental health a regular topic of conversation in the workplace.? Don’t wait for themed days or weeks to ask are you ok???
• Don’t make it someone else’s problem to solve. Involving the EAP team may be part of the solution, but managers need to check in with how the team member is progressing.
• Be proactive not reactive.? Often information shared is mental illness focused and management of symptoms etc.? Be proactive and support your people to protect their mental health by sharing information that is wellbeing focused and preventative based.

For Employees

• Be courageous and start a conversation.? Remember that there is a good chance that the person you are talking to has their own experience or knows someone who has a mental health issue.
• Avoid use of ‘labels’ or ‘diagnostic terms’ in early conversations, instead of saying ‘I have depression’ talk about what causes you stress and how you experience that “I can feel overwhelmed when tasks are being piled on me quickly and I am being asked to respond straight away”.?
• Approach the conversation with confidence and a solution focused approach “I can feel overwhelmed when tasks are being piled on me quickly and I am being asked to respond straight away.? What I need is to be able to sit quietly for 10 minutes and get my thoughts organised before coming back to you”?
• Build your confidence and prepare yourself for having a conversation with your manager by practicing with someone you feel safe with like a mentor or coach or colleague to refine your message.
• Never apologise for having a mental illness