Often when people experience depression it feels like being in a deep, dark hole.
At least I know that is what it felt like for me.
When I went through an episode of major depression in 2012, the world felt incredibly dark and cold. My mind was filled with dread and overwhelm. Inside I was telling myself that I was a failure and the everything I had worked for would soon completely fall apart. I lost about twenty pounds in a month because I stopped eating. I didn’t sleep night after night.
On the outside I soldiered on.
It took the loving concern of others around me for me to see it was okay to take care of myself. Sometimes depression at work looks like isolation and sadness. Sometimes it looks like distraction, low stress tolerance, anger or changes in appearance. Sometimes the impacts of depression on performance are obvious, and sometimes they are not.
That said, untreated depression is costly and disruptive at work. According to Forbes, half of depressed employees are untreated costing an estimated 200 million lost workdays each year costing upwards of $44 billion to employers. Often employees feel trapped between feeling very unwell and needing to continue to work. Many don’t feel like they have permission to take care of this part of their health or that if they do, many feel they will be punished for doing so.
In this episode, I speak with Mike Jacquart about his experiences living with depression. We cover his three take-aways from the point of view of someone with lived experience:
Understand the impact of poor self-esteem and depression on work.
Offer hope to those suffering in silence.
Treatment works and transforms lives.
About Mike Jacquart
Mike has a bachelor's degree in journalism and have worked as a reporter, writer, editor, and author. I edited a newsletter and magazine for employee assistance professionals, many of whom work in behavioral health. Mike noticed that many books on mental health discuss the characteristics of various disorders but lack the perspective of someone who has actually lived with the mental health condition. His new book, Climbing out of Darkness: A Personal Journey into Mental Wellness (with Marina London LCSW) fills a gap in revealing the impact that mental health challenges can have on one’s daily life.
Show Notes
About Mike Jacquart
Mike’s website https://www.writeitrightllc.com/blog/categories/mental-health-awareness
Fresh Hope for Mental Health (support group)
Book “Climbing Out of Darkness”
Cost of Depression
Forbes: Mental Health In The Workplace: The High Cost Of Depression https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariaminor/2021/01/20/mental-health-in-the-workplace-the-high-cost-of-depression/?sh=8aa405f6666f
Gallup: Depression Costs U.S. Workplaces $23 Billion in Absenteeism https://news.gallup.com/poll/163619/depression-costs-workplaces-billion-absenteeism.aspx
Journal of Affective Medicine: The relationship between depression symptoms, absenteeism and presenteeism https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31280078/
Mental Health America: Depression in The Workplace https://www.mhanational.org/depression-workplace
What Employers Can Do to Support Depressed Workers
A White Paper for HR Professionals and Employment Lawyers: Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention in the Workplace — Policy and Response Recommendations to Help Employers Positively Impact Workers and the Work Environment https://workplacesuicideprevention.com/resources/
SHRM: The Paralysis of Depression in the Workplace - How employers can support employees with depression https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/the-paralysis-of-depression-in-the-workplace.aspx
National Safety Council:: Promote Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing https://www.nsc.org/workplace/safety-topics/safer/mental-health-and-wellbeing?utm_source=Google_Search&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Workplace_Safer&gclid=CjwKCAjw04yjBhApEiwAJcvNoUNlxQmynK8mos0M4LhpP2c10XwEiP7LEHie1enrfE5BMh0J2V3fvRoC5bkQAvD_BwE
Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Workplace Health Strategies https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/health-strategies/depression/index.html
Psychology Today: Mental Illness: The Non-Casserole Disease https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-antidepressant-diet/201805/mental-illness-the-non-casserole-disease
What Depressed Employees Can Do to Help Themselves
Psych Central: How to Deal with Depression When You’re at Work https://psychcentral.com/depression/depression-at-work
TalkSpace: Depression at Work: How to Deal with It https://www.talkspace.com/mental-health/conditions/articles/depression-at-work/
Mayo Clinic: PET scan of the brain for depression https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/pet-scan/multimedia/-pet-scan-of-the-brain-for-depression/img-20007400
