Work Depression: How to Take Care of Your Mental Health on the Job
“While a job may not cause depression, the environment may worsen symptoms for people who already live with depression.”
“Leela R. Magavi, MD, a psychiatrist and regional medical director at Community Psychiatry, said she works with many clients who are adversely affected by engaging in work they aren’t passionate about.
“Individuals can mindlessly complete tasks throughout the day and begin to feel disconnected and demoralized, which can exacerbate anxiety and depressive symptoms,” she explained.
Others may have little time to consume meals or hydrate throughout the day, which Magavi suggested could worsen fatigue and inattentiveness.”
My Takeaways:
Oftentimes we think of work as a place where we put our personal needs aside to get the work done, but that's a mentality that can lead to a lot of issues and exacerbation of problems in work such as mental health difficulties.
Prioritizing mental health care and self-care during work can provide a better benefit to work productivity and efficiency more so if you let it fester inside and grow. These can lead to symptoms such as lack of effort, low motivation and tiredness.
Taking small breaks, making sure to get proper nutrition and water and making small chats with co-workers are some ways to get you up and running again. These small things can come a long way and help you become a more productive employee!
Full article is here!
What are some ways we can practice mental health care during our work settings? What are your experiences with work environments affecting your health?
@sunnyWriting4806 Nice article! It opened my eyes to how the work environment can contribute to your overall happiness at work.
@comfortableNight4463
Definitely, taking care of our mental health never stops, taking into consideration what effects it is a great way to take care of it.
@sunnyWriting4806 In our work settings, I think setting boundaries is so important! We can tend to take on more than we can handle and it's important to know when to say no. If we take on too much, the quality of our work can be effected and we can become burnt out. I worked in a deli once and the hardest part on my mental health were the customers. People really can be tough on food workers.
@fruityPond7887
That's a really great point! I think understanding that doing the most we can isn't always the best especially when the quality of our work suffers. I also think in the value of taking well-timed breaks to prevent this kind of burn out is a great strategy to working consciously to our mental health.
@sunnyWriting4806 Oh yeah! I saw a study that even taking more 5 minute breaks throughout the day can exponentially increase productivity!