Remembering to take care of ourselves, and each other, on World Mental Health Day

This October 10 is World Mental Health Day, and if there was ever a year where attention should be put on mental health care, 2020 is it. 2020 has been a terrible year. Just awful.

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a heavy mental health toll on people, even those not directly impacted by the disease. Covid-19 is also severely disrupting the mental health services meant to help those in need in most countries.

The long term impact caused by the "mental health pandemic" could be far reaching and last well beyond the actual virus.

The numbers are quite frankly just staggering. In the United States, the numbers of people experiencing depression has tripled since the coronavirus outbreak began. In South Korea, 40% of South Koreans are facing mental health issues due to Covid-19. Singaporeans' anxiety over the pandemic impact is through the roof at 74%. Japan has seen a rise in suicides because of the pandemic and is stepping up measures to address the issue.

There has also been a regression in how those with mental health are being treated as hundreds of thousands of people with mental health issues are once again being literally shackled in place.

It is impacting both men and women in different but significant ways. One recent study found the pandemic is having a bigger impact on the mental health of American men than many might admit, with 77% of the respondents reporting increased stress levels during the pandemic and 59% saying they felt isolated. Those surveyed also "cited the economy and their family’s well-being ahead of their own personal health," highlighting a problem of men being less likely to seek help than women.

Conversely, a new report by humanitarian organization CARE reports that women "were almost three times more likely to report that their mental health has been impacted by the pandemic." The report also highlighted that women were almost twice as likely as men to have trouble accessing health services.

Rising racism in the U.S. and many countries is also significantly contributing to the mental health issues of those who are the target of racism.

Parents? They are "very much not OK" in the pandemic as they face stress around finance, caregiving and isolation, while their kids are feeling the emotional impacts of their parents and facing their own mental health challenges around changed home environments, social interactions, personal loss or even understanding why famous people get Covid-19.

The effects of all of the anxiety, stress and uncertainty can manifest in a number of ways both obvious and otherwise. At work, we're burning out all over the place, with a study from Oracle revealing more than eight in ten professionals around the world are experiencing high levels of stress at work this year. Now we've even got dentists telling us that more people are grinding their teeth at night than ever before.

?? What we can do about it

Each and any one of the above issues can and will impact us in how we work, regardless of what exactly it is that is impacting our mental health. When we get up in the morning to work day in and day out, or even when we're looking for work, we can carry all of this stress, anxiety, depression or whatever it is with us whether we admit it or not.

I'm no different. I've faced challenges working from home as a parent, dealing with a lockdown and even coming to grips with a lockdown ending and re-entering into society.

How has it impacted you? Vote here.

The only way to positively impact mental health through all of this insanity is to address it and not let it fester or be ignored. There's a variety of ways to address recognizing and improving upon mental health from both a company and individual level.

?? Here's some recent advice on improving mental health for either you, your company, your staff or your colleagues to consider.

? For companies

Employers can actively offer mental health support

Employers need to be prepared for the mental strain the pandemic has caused their employees, and one way to do that is to actively offer mental health support. While I think this is a pretty obvious suggestion, actually implementing it can be a challenge, particularly for SMBs. Even larger corporations may have had challenges around offered mental health support services before the pandemic. Case in point, I personally know of one company (not my current employer) that offers such a service, but when a few of the employees tried to use it, they found it completely unhelpful and insincere. So not only must a company offer such support, they have to ensure it really addresses employee needs and is of a high enough quality.

As an employee, if your company offers such a service, it means nothing if you don't use it.

Hire a Chief Medical Officer

Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley makes the case in Harvard Business Review that's exactly what companies need to do. Neeley points to Constellation Brands, which hired Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tim Malins early on in the pandemic and one of the key reasons why this was a smart move is a company needs "to show that employee physical – and mental – health is a fundamental concern." I'd agree. Though of course adding on a role like this is probably more suitable for larger-size companies and a bit out of reach for small to midsized businesses.

Offer a Mental Health Day to employees

Before the pandemic, the idea of a company offering a dedicated mental health day might be looked at as a nice optional perk. Today, it sounds more like it should be a requirement. There's precedent. Media giant Reuters recently launched a mental health day as a company holiday.

Shorten the workweek

Five months ago I put up a poll on if people would want to have a 4-day work week. The results overwhelmingly indicated they would.

I'd venture to guess if I posted the poll today not much would change. Now that there's numerous examples of companies already moving to a work from home model, there's also hybrid models starting to emerge like with Japanese megabank Mizuho planning to introduce three- and four-day workweeks for its 45,000 employees in December pending union negotiations. Though those taking the option of a reduced work week would have to sacrifice a percentage of their salary to do so.

?? What suggestions do you have for more ways companies could support the mental health of their employees? Let me know in the comments.

? For individuals

Recognize signs of anxiety

Because of the pandemic, the idea of having a high degree of anxiety might be new to many people, so knowing what to look for in the long list of signs is worth at least being aware of. Once recognized, Psychotherapist Beverly Engel provides a good starter for prescriptions of how to deal with covid-based anxiety. Knowing the signs can also be a good thing when dealing with close friends, colleagues or family.

Connect more with others through listening

With many people working from home, dealing with isolation and difficulties connecting with others, the importance of human connection has become even more important. Connections are everything, according to author and interview-show host Kelly Corrigan, who adds that meaningful bonds drive happiness. Corrigan says the key to better connections is the ability to listen, a skill which has a tendency to decline with decreased social interaction.

Listening can be a simple thing such as whenever you ask the question, "How are you doing?" there's the honest and true intention of hearing out the answer and not just asking as a form of greeting.

???♂??? Bounce back from stress with exercise

Easier said than done! It's long been known that exercise can help people bounce back from stress, and it isn't any different now. The real kicker here is having the time, opportunity and motivation to exercise. What triggers somebody to exercise is different from person to person. It's easy for me to sit here at my desk as I eat a bag of chips and say, "Exercise is good for you!" knowing full well I shouldn't eat that next chip.

Then I don't feel so terrible about it because I found my exercise thing in bike riding and I know I'll go out for a spin later. It helps me get out some energy and focus on something else, something that isn't the news or work or anything but moving my legs and getting my blood flowing. It helps. Find what works for you.

???????? Parents, take care of yourselves too

As a dad, I know the priority is always, always the family and the kids. Just like the research above, dads and parents in general have a tendency to ignore their own mental wellbeing because of that sense of responsibility towards the family. Unfortunately, if as a parent I'm not in a good place mental health-wise, that can manifest in my interactions with my family, which then in turn defeats the whole purpose of "family first" because of the negative impact.

You don't wan to turn into this...

Parental self-care is important and can help kids weather some of the added pandemic stress they may be facing.

? And one last thing...

These are only a few suggestions and ideas on how to address mental health in the workplace and for individuals. But there's a wealth of easily found and excellent information out there in Internet Land or even on LinkedIn Learning with courses like supporting your mental health while WFH or dealing with grief, loss and change as an employee. If there's any day of the year where it might be worth a little of your time to seek it out, World Mental Health Day is as good of a time as any.