Key Points
- This year’s World Mental Health Day theme is about prioritising mental health at work.
- Cecile Sy credits a manager for urging her to seek professional help for her mental health struggles.
- A warning sign that your mental health may need attention is ‘feeling constantly overwhelmed or worried’, says expert.
“Growing up in Asia, there was pressure to excel due to the strong competition. Like many parents, mine viewed academic success as a pathway to a good job and financial stability. They didn’t have much growing up and wanted a better life for myself and my siblings, so they sent us to Manila for a better education when I was 11,” she said.
There’s limited mental health awareness in the community and a culture of saving face.
Cecile Sy
She said she saw more warning signs that her mental health was in jeopardy including “crying, racing thoughts, tightness in my chest, not eating or sleeping well, losing both concentration and confidence”.
I would go to the toilets to cry at work.
Cecile Sy
“I was in denial for years. My family suggested I pray more but sometimes, spirituality is not enough. Often people wanted to help but didn’t know how to, offering solutions instead of listening.”
‘Feeling flat, stuck or lacking in motivation’
Beyond Blue’s spokesperson and clinical psychologist, Dr Luke Martin, said workplaces could expose people to “excessive stress, unreasonable demands, bullying, or discrimination, which can negatively affect our mental health, possibly triggering a mental health condition or causing an existing condition to worsen”.
Some specific warning signs to look out for include:
- Feeling constantly overwhelmed or worried
- Not enjoying activities you usually do
- Feeling flat, stuck or lacking in motivation
- Having trouble focusing or maintaining attention on tasks
- Having trouble sleeping
- Feeling irritable or quicker to anger
- Withdrawing from social activities or relationships, and
- Feeling empty or lacking purpose.
He said the best way to approach a colleague you suspect may be struggling with their mental health was to use the ‘Ask, Listen and Support’ strategy.
Beyond Blue’s spokesperson, clinical psychologist Dr Luke Martin. Credit: Beyond Blue
“‘Ask’ is about finding a quiet time and private space to open the conversation and ask if everything is okay,” he said.
“‘Support’ means helping your colleague explore their options for what to do about how they’re feeling. You can encourage them to seek help from the workplace Employee Assistance Program, their GP or organisations like Beyond Blue.”
‘Remind yourself why your work matters to you and others’
Dr Martin’s top 10 tips for safeguarding mental health at work are:
- Limit working outside of regular hours. Disconnect so you’re not checking emails or making calls after hours.
- Take regular breaks and move your body.
- It’s okay to say ‘no’ or re-prioritise tasks when facing a lot of demands.
- Use mindfulness or breathing to manage stress.
- Check your thinking to ensure you’re interpreting situations in balanced and helpful ways.
- Stay connected with your colleagues and support each other.
- Be kind to yourself when you make a mistake or something doesn’t go to plan.
- Re-connect with why you do this work. Remind yourself why your work matters to you and others.
- Communicate with your manager if work is affecting you.
- Make use of workplace mental health supports.
‘Self-care tool kit’
She recently returned from almost six months of teaching English in Spain as an immersive way to learn Spanish, an ultimate dream, she said.
Cecile Sy recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of learning Spanish in Spain for almost six months. Credit: Cecile Sy
“Remember, you don’t have to struggle alone or be ashamed to seek help,” she said.