Did you know that on any given week more than 500,000 Canadians are unable to work due to mental health concerns? Stress at home, work, and in life is as high as anywhere from 40 - 70%, as Canadians report more and more, distress or burnout at home or in the workplace as being, not just burdensome, but exhaustive. And though the often quoted statistic around 1 in 5 Canadians, who has a mental health concern at any given time is a well known statistic, a lesser known fact is that by age 40, 1/2 of Canadians has or is suffering from a mental health concern.
I only mention these numbers to remind us that mental health, as an issue affecting many Canadians, is not something we want to ignore. Nor, however, is it an epidemic, that we need to fear infiltrating our homes and workplaces!
What it is, is something we must recognize, normalize, and manage to reduce both the stigma and pandemonium that surround it sometimes; supporting people to feel ok reaching out when stress turns to distress and exhaustion to burnout, so through awareness, they know they will be heard, understood, and respected.
When stress goes from a nagging urge to get everything done to an overwhelming impact on overall mental health and well-being we need to be armed with information; which leads me to the second reason we would highlight these staggering statistics. Our mental health is something we can have personal power over. With the right time and support, we can take measures to manage surmounting stress, and to ward off the intrusion of what sometimes feels like an unknown entity that just took up shop over our heads, and in our homes, or workplaces.
When we are stressed at work or in life it can affect:
✔️Productivity,
✔️Financial Performance,
✔️Risk Management,
✔️Organizational Recruitment, and
✔️Employee Retention
These are big deals for our workplaces and organizations. When we are stressed at home it can impact relationships, self- care, and can foster stress contagion, whereby we spread our stress throughout from person to person, increasing the likelihood of it affecting the mental health, wellness, and behaviour of the entire family.
Though long term and deeply ingrained mental health concerns can require intense therapy and support, much of the stress in our lives can be mitigated with a little information. Sometime even just knowing that stress is normal and purposeful can help. In one of our introductory workshops designed for communities, leaders, workspaces, and even families and schools, we teach about mental health, stress, and burnout through a process we have termed: AWARE~CARE~COPE.
Through this process, we teach at each stage the human elements of who we are as individuals and how stress, the stress response system, and knowledge of its regulation and management can be a game changer for some in their understanding of self, other, and health. We open the door for you and your organization to start conversations and build awareness to know when you can support and step in, or when more services might be needed and where to go!
We help you build emotional vocabulary so that everyone is on the same page and we teach about the background and difference between some of the terms people throw around today and what they truly mean. We teach you how to tell the difference between what you can support and change on your own and when to seek medical help. Stress and mental health don’t have to be mysterious concepts that scare or worry us, if we have information and learn about the importance of communication, collaboration, and camaraderie in the process of understanding and healing.
Life is a journey and at its best it can be free from the burden of the stigma around this thing we call mental health. If you, your organization, or community is interested in getting in the know contact us and we can discuss your needs and your people! Health matters, at work, at home, and in the community; and we care about making a difference!