If you have ever hit rock bottom you will know how hard it is to climb your way up again. It takes such a lot of effort and perseverance and belief to do this when really all you want to do is curl up in a ball and forget about the world.
When you add on top that you have to go to work and perform in your role, lead a team, be great at customer service and/or office politics, life can quickly become overwhelming.
I know that from personal experience. I have hit rock bottom a couple of times and to climb back up has felt like trying to conquer the Himalayas in high heels.
Since it is mental health month, let’s all try and be a bit kinder to those who we work with because we never know what is going on in the background of someone’s life.
Awareness
If you have an awareness of the warning signs that your colleagues have when they are feeling mentally wobby e.g. they get a cold sore, they miss deadlines or they make silly mistakes, then you can reach out and open a discussion with them about what is going on in their lives.
Belonging
If we feel like we belong and are connected to others at work, oxytocin is released and when this happens, we work together more effectively.
If we feel isolated and disconnected at work, cortisol will flood our body and when this happens, effective performance is pretty much impossible.
Connection
One of the most important but undervalued strategies to protect our mental health is connection.
Creating professional connections with each other not only makes a difference to our own wellbeing and performance but it also makes a difference to the wellbeing and performance of our colleagues.
When we spend 90,000 hrs of our lives at work, it is so important that there is at least one person whom we can connect with professionally in our workplaces.
