The difficulty of mental health and work

Imagine feeling so low or so anxious you can't picture how you'll ever leave the house again; then imagine feeling that way and having to get up and force yourself into work each day. For a large majority of people, this is their reality and it's a complete catch 22 situation because the stress of having to get into work makes a person more anxious and more depressed but they know there's no choice unless they're willing to lose their job.

Managing work with a mental health condition is challenging due to the fact these conditions cannot be seen, employers struggle to comprehend how a person can have depression for example and seem as though they're completely fine. Due to a lack of understanding, those suffering are often considered to be lazy or thought of as slacking off, all because the conditions cannot be seen. It takes a great deal of confidence for a person to express to their company what they're experiencing and sadly because of the stigma mental health carries most people are too afraid to, meaning they suffer in silence.

I'm extremely passionate about this subject because I know first hand the difficulty of it and the vast lack of support that there is. As employers, business owners and a nation as a whole, we need to find ways of becoming more flexible and helpful to those diagnosed with mental health conditions.

The reason mental health makes work a challenge is because a person suffering will not know how they will feel from one day to the next, meaning that one day they could go into work without a struggle and the next day not even be able to drag themselves out of bed. The problem is how do you explain how that's possible to an employer when you don't even understand it yourself? With the traditional work system we have, there is no flexibility and the idea of having to get up and do an 8 hour day, every single day can be very overwhelming. It's essential that employers and business owners find ways to become more adjustable, in order to help more people stay in work and don't lose a job they don't deserve to because of a condition they cannot help that they have. 

My suggestion is that instead of just having an employee signed off, speak with them and see if they feel comfortable doing reduced hours, for example, one shift a week. The thought process behind this idea is that when you're unwell, sitting around doing nothing often makes a person feel worse and just because a person is suffering from a mental health condition doesn't automatically mean they can't work altogether, but for a period of time, they might not cope with doing as many hours as they once did.

Studies show that three-quarters of people living with long-term mental health conditions are unemployed. All three-quarters of those people are not necessarily unable to work altogether but instead just cannot fulfil the requirements of a full time or part time job, leaving them with no other option than to be unemployed. These people are not choosing this way of life but there just isn't enough support to help them. We have to find ways to help those struggling get back into work, or managing their condition with their job so they don't become unemployed in the first place.

I have lived through both scenarios of being too unwell to work and wanting to work but not being able to do full a time. When I was very unwell, I was told my condition 'wasn't bad enough' to receive any financial support even though I couldn't even get out of bed.Then as I started to recover, I was told that I either had a choice of, not working at all and getting help or working reduced hours with no help at all. Two exact points that show exactly what is wrong with our system; everyone should have access to help no matter how 'bad' they are and people should be encouraged to work if they are wanting to.

As previously explained being self-employed as I am now wasn't always the case for me and for many years I battled with having to force myself into work when I felt as though was falling apart inside. I feel very blessed to be in a position now where I am completely self-employed and able to tailor my work hours to what suits me as this is what works perfectly for me which I couldn't be more grateful. for Sadly though this isn't possible for everyone, however the greatest thing I ever learnt was no job is worth spending your life being unhappy for. 

Just remember life is too short to spend it being anything other than happy, find what works for you and forget anything else.