I would like to start by saying that I am by no means the epitome of amazing mental health. I am someone who has spent a significant portion of their life navigating their own mental health. I’ve dealt with depression and anxiety since my early adolescence. My first therapy session was in elementary school, and I have navigated various diagnoses, treatment programs, and lifestyle changes ever since.
As I have grown into my adulthood, I’ve had to learn how to maintain my mental health and make a living. As someone with a full trifecta of fun, including anxiety, depression, and a mood disorder, working a traditional job hasn’t always been easy.
When I was diagnosed with manic depression at 19 years old, I often wondered what the future of my career would be. I asked myself the hard questions of, “What happens if I cannot work? What if I am too ill and need to apply for disability later on in life?”
Those thoughts were prevalent in my mind in the early years, and I often doubted my longevity in a traditional career path. At 26 years old, I am extremely proud of the work ethic I have and am also aware of the power my work-life holds on my mental health.
Here are a few ways I’ve navigated my own mental health in the workplace. The first is being in tune with my symptoms and being able to identify my triggers. We live in a world where a lot of trauma has come from various aspects of our lives. For many of us, that also includes the workplace.
Because of this, it’s important to be in tune with how your past trauma could bring in internal bias. When speaking to your coworkers, supervisors, and other colleagues, making sure not to project past experiences can be really important. This will help gain mutual respect and trust between you and your team.
Once there is a mutual level of trust and respect, my next tool for navigating my mental health is to be as transparent as you can, under your personal boundaries. Being someone who appears to be very high-functioning, it’s important for me to remind the people in my life when I’m not feeling well mentally, the same way we would tell the team if we were unable to do our best because of a physical ailment.
This isn’t always easy, and it can be hard to open up in a vulnerable moment, especially in a business situation. No one wants to appear unable to work or pull their weight. The level of detail about what is going on personally does not have to be in depth, but if you are in a severe state of mental turmoil, it is within your rights to speak up. When you’re an employee whom the company values, they also value your well-being overall. If you’re not feeling your best, you’re not able to produce the same level of work. And if you don’t speak up, they won’t know what’s going on and will just see the lack of productivity without knowing the reason.
This is why taking time to recover, become well, and sometimes even seek hospitalization can be necessary. This does not have to be company-shared knowledge. No one else needs to know why you are out of the office. This should be handled directly through an HR department. If you have a really small team and no official HR department, you can pull aside a trusted supervisor and explain to them the state of your wellbeing. Even with trust and time, this can be nerve-wracking, but it can be worth it long-term. This can also help your job be able to support you better as an employee.
That being said, we all have rights under the law as employees, and if you need to escalate your concerns to someone higher up, do so. Mental illnesses can be debilitating and should be acknowledged as such. It is also important that employers are providing support for their team and individual challenges. Finding a workplace that provides the flexibility for working remotely, taking a mental health day in lieu of a sick day, and that will be supportive if you need long-term treatment will help immensely.
Work-life balance can be life or death for some of us neurodivergent folks. As I continue to navigate in my own career, I will also continue to advocate for those who are like me. Individuals with mental illnesses deserve well pay, adequate benefits, and ultimately, empathy. Because, at the end of the day, no source of income is worth the cost of your mental wellbeing. They can hire a new employee, but your family, friends, and loved ones cannot replace you.
