Emotional and Mental Health (From Bags to Flags)

Introduction: Before we begin, I would recommend that you read The Breakthrough Solution by Dr. Grant Mullen. This will give you some idea of the emotional baggage we bring to our workplace. He has also written the book Healthy Moods, which is a guide to the recognition and treatment of mood disorders. If you go on Dr. Grant Mullen's website, you will find other resources and a quick check to find out if you may have a mood disorder.

Emotional Health: What do you think is a big cause in the workplace regarding your emotional health? Stress- Let's talk about stress and how it affects our emotional and mental health.
"What is stress? Emotional stress, as we've come to know it, is a natural and inevitable occurrence that involves change and usually some element of fear or concern. . . . [S]tress is experienced differently by different people . . . For example, rapid technological changes in the workplace can create excitement and interest for some while others feel frustrated and anxious at the thought of having to learn a new way of doing things . . . No one is immune to stress. If you're alive, you experience stress."
(Source: Career Connections, Fall 2013; CAPS; University of Alberta pg. 8)

Workplace Induced Stress: When you engage in your career, you will need to know what causes your stress and how you can minimize those factors in your work. The workplace is the most likely place to cause you the most stress. According to MayoClinic, "Job stress can affect y our professional and personal relationships, your livelihood, and your health."

MIND, the leading mental health charity in England and Wales, recently announced "work is the most stressful factor in people's lives". They also found that:
  • One in three people said their work life was either very or quite stressful, more so than debt or financial problems (30 per cent) or health (17 per cent)
  • Workplace stress resulted in seven percent (rising to 10 per cent amongst 18 to 24 year olds) having suicidal thoughts and one in five (18 per cent) developing anxiety
  • Stress has often caused people to resort to alcohol and drugs to cope
  • one in five (19 per cent) took a day off sick because of stress but 90 per cent of those cited a different reason for their absence
  • One in 10 (nine per cent) have resigned from a job due to stress and one in four (25 per cent) have considered resigning due to work pressure (source: Career Connections Fall, 2013, CAPS; University of Alberta pg. 8)
Four Common Causes of Career Stress (source: Career Connections Fall, 2013, CAPS; University of Alberta pg. 11):
  1. Career Indecision - Not knowing who you are and what you were created to do on planet earth, can be a great stressor, as you will flounder from job to job; degree to degree not knowing for sure where you are going in life.
  2. Expectations or Others - Often our families or loved ones have our best interest at heart, when we decide to enter into a career directions. Often the pressure and stress to live out our parent's dreams hinders you to discover what you're maybe interested in pursuing. Honour your parents but your self-determination and passion will lead you to the right career path.
  3. Dysfunctional Career Beliefs - These are thoughts and assumptions we carry about ourselves and the kind of career we want to enter. Eg. Don't complete high school and go to Fort McMurray to work where the money is great but your social support network may be different. Often the result is returning to school at a later date.
  4. Isolation: Lack of a Support Network - Wherever your career path may lead you, it is important to value the building and maintaining positive connections along the way. 
Let us now look at Emotional Health.

Emotional Health: As human beings, we consist of three parts:
  • Body - the physical nature, the part that relates to the natural or seen world.
    • Needs regular exercise, sleep, and a nutritious diet.
  • Spirit - the eternal part of man. The true inner unseen self that is in us at conception.
    • Our natural intuitions placed in us at birth that gives us purpose.
  • Soul - the personality which includes the mind, will and emotions (Emotionally Free by Dr Mullen, pg. 13)
    • Includes mind (intellect) will, and emotions. What we feed our minds with will be expressed in our will and emotions.

All are interwoven together to make you become you.
 All three parts affect our stress levels. If we have received hurts or traumas in our life - and we all have experienced them as we go through life - this will affect our workplace performances.

Let's conclude the Emotional Health issue with this quote from the PBS site - Emotional Life: Ten factors that lead to resilience:
  1. Close relationships with family and friends
  2. A positive view of yourself and confidence in your strengths and abilities
  3. The ability to manage strong feelings and impulses
  4. Good problem-solving and communication skills
  5. Feeling in control
  6. Seeking help and resources
  7. Seeing yourself as resilient (rather than as a victim)
  8. Coping with stress in healthy ways and avoiding harmful coping strategies, such as substance abuse
  9. Helping others
  10. Finding positive meaning in your life despite difficult or traumatic events. (Source: Career Connections, Fall 2013; CAPS; University of Alberta pg. 10)
In closing, let's look at Mental Health and how we can become pro-active in this area especially as we deal with ourselves and perhaps assist others in recognizing what may be happening in their lives.

Resources Related to Mental Health:
Source:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)