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Mark as an Advocate for Mental Health

Overview

Too often the pressures of home, family, work, finances and health build up to a boiling point within us. If not dealt with properly, this stress can lead to serious problems, such as burnout, physical illness, deflated self esteem, frequent absenteeism and troubles that spill over to the home front. Yet the stigma of reaching out for assistance is literally destroying our best. An astonishing November 2007 study by the leading survey firm Ipsos Canada revealed that...

...nearly 25% of employees and managers - that's a shocking 1 in 4 people in Canada's entire workforce - now report being under the care of a physician for (or otherwise living with) clinical depression, a medical condition that affects the way our brains process their natural chemicals.

This is a radical jump from most previous studies, which had generally concluded that perhaps 5 or 6 per cent of the population was dealing with this condition. Talk about an under-reported epidemic!

Personal Experience with Dysthymia

Personally Mark has lived with a condition known as Dysthymia, a lower level though long term version of Clinical Depression, since the early 90's. Not that the onset of the illness was solely work-related by any means (genetics and environment play a very big part), but his illness was was triggered after a few ill-timed downsizings: back when he was married and his wife was pregnant with their first child, they'd just bought their very first home, and Mark's company chose that precise moment to downsize him. Coincidentally, four years later it happened again at another job - right when Mark was expecting his second child. (Perhaps not so coincidentally Mark stopped at two.)

Please note that this does not qualify Mark as a medical expert. He is not able to provide any special advice or treatment to the clients he coaches. Instead, he can offer a sympathetic view of what you might be experiencing.

Mark speaks openly to groups and writes about getting help for Clinical Depression. Here are some places you can go for assistance, if you, or someone that you know, are affected by this growing health crisis:

Resources For Employees

You can try calling your employer's free Employee Assistance Hotline, if available. Otherwise call your doctor and get in to see them as soon as you can. In the meantime there are many "help lines" you can call for free and speak to someone about what you're going through. And if you are feeling suicidal, don't wait! Call a free "crisis hotline" immediately (check out this list of Canadian crisis lines from the Centre for Suicide Prevention, www.suicideinfo.ca) or get to your nearest hospital emergency room, or a walk-in clinic, to speak to a medical professional. You can even call 911 if things are truly difficult.

Resources For Managers and Executives

Please visit the wonderfully informative site started by Bill Wilkerson, Mental Health Roundtable. You will learn what you can do to assist your staff while boosting your bottom line. The site was site founded by Canadian Bill Wilkerson. Thank you Bill for your remarkable efforts!

Resources For All Others

Thankfully these days help is but a click, or phone call, away, if you or someone you know may be experiencing stress overdose or mental hygiene issues. On the net, you can start with an excellent source of information on mental hygiene at mentalhealthworks.ca, an initiative of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario. Also the Canadian Mental Health Association's pages on Mood Disorders. A list of links to articles and resources on depression, from the U.S. government's National Institute of Mental Health site.