Career Chat // Managing depression in the workplace // Friday 26 Aug, 10am AEST

Thanks @Kurra

Pigheadedness is an excellent quality I think!! ( I have to say that I have it too)

What you're describing is something that we talked about a few weeks ago in which a study was done where new, young employees with MI wrote out a comprehensive plan which included materials to provide to their new employers and it covered not only aspects of the mental illness involved but also what to do when the person is having an episode and also how to approach the subject and how to disseminate information ... In effect a workplace MI plan.

Which indirectly is what you've described and shown to actually work.

I personally would like to see more of those plans created for employees with MI.

On the subject of exercise I think more and more we have to begin to connect the body with the mind .... assuming that mental illness is only a 'head space' thing is really undermining and actually creating barriers towards good MI management

And your experiences prove this point - seriously 10kms!!! I remember doing lunch time runs with coworkers in the city ... Social and good for mental health.

Going back to barriers... I've done some research regarding what exactly are the barriers for people with depression within the workplace and I'll be putting up a post shortly ...

Meantime thank you so much for sharing @Kurra strength to you and don't underestimate the power of your words !

Hi @Renstar (think I'm doing this right😃) I would agree that the best approach is a combination of everything. Having said that, while I was very sporty in my younger years (am now in my 40's) I find it difficult finding the motivation for exercise now, even though I think it would be beneficial. Anyone have any strategies for this?

Thanks @Renstar looks like there is some good stuff in there.

So what are some of the barriers being faced by people with depression in the workplace what exactly do we have to manage?

One study was done longitudinally to assess the impact of depression on job performance among employed primary care patients relative to two comparison groups.

The control group provided a benchmark for relatively healthy employees; the rheumatoid arthritis group was the benchmark for a group vulnerable to work disabilities.

Compared to the other two groups, the depression group had persistent, multidimensional deficits.

Moreover, while symptom improvement correlates with better job performance, depressed patients meeting the criteria for clinical improvement still perform worse than healthy control subjects.

There are no surprises here however this knowledge gives rise to some implications for types of intervention ...
These interventions may help address barriers to more effective functioning in the workplace...

1.' Combined Pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatment of depression should be pursued as a strategy to maximize remission rates.' In this usual care study, few (21%) of the depressed patients (not receiving a combination of pharma/psych treatment) achieved remission by the end of the study.

2. GP's need to inquire about the impact of depression on work and monitor the impact of symptom reduction on recovery of work function. If your GP is not monitoring your depression in the workspace, then they are not able to identify and suggest additional treatments so ongoing inquiry about depression from your GP is going to be an important factor in the management of MI at work.

3. The results also suggest that workers with depression may benefit from work-focused interventions.

It was found that there were barriers on

-performance of mental-interpersonal,

-time management,

-output, and

-physical tasks.

So consumers may benefit from:

- learning new approaches to managing job demands,

- identifying workplace supports such as Employee Assistance Programs and

- worksite occupational health clinics.

The reality of impaired job performance suggests that, in addition to quality medical care for their persistent depressive symptoms, employees with depression may benefit from other services.

Are these services available in your workplace? Do they make a difference?

We briefly touched on attitude ...

What do you feel about having depression ? Is it a label that you've come to terms with ? Are you calling it something else ?

A study showed that people who identified with depression commonly resisted using mental health labels to describe changes in their mood.

This was particularly true of patients who were thought to be somatising or who attributed their low mood to old age or illness, but also of patients who perceived depression as a sign of weakness or of 'letting themselves down'.

Maybe some part of handling or managing your depression at work includes checking your own attitude towards it?

Do you also feel that you've let yourself down? That you're letting others down?
It's fairly obvious that this self defeating attitude isn't going to help ...

BUT

We're not all like @Kurra who made a firm decision and that she would never feel shame about her bipolar disorder and instead decided to own it and educate her workplace about it

SO ... when you're not like that what's an alternative way of changing your attitude towards yourself ??

And I think this is what I'm getting at, that choosing to only take medication for your depression is hampering your overall likelihood of feeling better and/or going into remission ... A counsellor or therapist could help you with creating new narratives in regards to your depression or your depressive episodes.

This new narrative and alternative perspective could then lead to an overall improvement in your mental health...

I know for sure that within the program we run there are participants who, through both doing the workshops and the counselling, have gained new insights ... It's not for everyone but it does beg the question - if you continue to feel that you're 'letting yourself down' how are you going to move forward?

Anyway ... Something to think about.

Hi @StillSearching yep you're doing it right !

Hey I am in my mid-40s as well and let me tell you the motivation level has definitely decreased the good news is it's mainly hormonal so as long as you're doing things which increase your good hormones your motivation level will also increase ...

Oxytocin is one of the best hormones for happiness so scheduling pleasurable activities with people you're close to making sure that you get plenty of hugs 😊😊that may sound trite but seriously oxytocin is a very powerful hormone!!

The other thing is start out small ... Short walks can lead to longer walks ... weights and doing activities with other people often in a team environment help too. I saw a show recently which showed that people were better able to stick to an exercise regime when they were in a team rather than on their own ...

Just some suggestions off the top of my head so glad you could join us !!