Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace. Gill Hasson

experience a mental health problem differently from someone else with a mental health problem. There are, however, some common signs and symptoms. They include any number of the following:

       Out-of-character behaviour/unusual reactions

       Being overly sensitive, often upset or tearful, perhaps unable to stop crying

       Sudden mood changes

       Aggressive behaviour, irrational, angry outbursts

       Withdrawing from others

       Persistent tiredness or exhaustion

       Sleep problems

       Difficulty communicating, thinking clearly, concentrating, remembering, or making decisions

       Changes in appetite and eating habits

       Using alcohol or drugs as a coping strategy

       Losing interest in sex or being dependent on it

       Neglecting appearance and personal hygiene

       Taking less interest in things that used to be enjoyable

       Reluctance to make plans

       Physical aches and pains, nausea, tremors

       Self-harm, suicidal thinking or behaviour.

      Although these are common indicators of a mental health problem (and/or could also be symptoms of a physical illness) each mental health problem will have its own specific signs and symptoms.

Stress

Stress isn't a psychiatric diagnosis, but, say the mental health charity Mind, ‘it's closely linked to your mental health in two important ways:

       Stress can cause mental health problems, and make existing problems worse. For example, if you often struggle to manage feelings of stress, you might develop a mental health problem like anxiety or depression.

       Mental health problems can cause stress. You might find coping with the day-to-day symptoms of your mental health problem, as well as potentially needing to manage medication, healthcare appointments or treatments, can become extra sources of stress.

      This can start to feel like a vicious circle, and it might be hard to see where stress ends and your mental health problem begins.’

       Emotional and physical responses:

       Overwhelmed, worried

       A sense of dread

       Racing thoughts that won't switch off

       Unable to concentrate, indecisive

       Being wound up, irritable, impatient, aggressive

       Muscle tension

       Headaches

       Chest pains

       Indigestion or heartburn

       Constipation or diarrhoea

       Feeling sick, dizzy, or faint.

       How you might behave:

       Avoiding situations that are overwhelming you

       Being tearful, snapping at people

       Being unable to sit still

       Eating more or less than usual

       Smoking, drinking, or taking drugs ‘to cope’

       Sleep problems.

      Stress can lead to either or both of the two most common mental health problems: anxiety and depression.

Depression

      Depression is a low mood that lasts for a long time and affects your everyday life. In its mildest form, depression can mean feeling sad, lacking enthusiasm, feeling that you have little control and being generally in low spirits.

      We all feel down or sad at times. Sadness is the normal reaction caused by a loss or failure that we experience. When you lose something or someone you love, when you fail to achieve something – your hopes fail to materialize, or a good situation comes to an end – this experience of loss can be felt and expressed as sadness.

Depression doesn't necessarily stop you leading your normal life but it does make everything harder to do – to function well at work, to focus on tasks and complete them, for example – and outside of work, feeling depressed makes things seem less worthwhile. At its most severe, depression can result in feelings of despair and worthlessness and that you have no control over situations. It can lead to thoughts of harming oneself or others, or can lead to feeling suicidal.

      Some common signs of depression may include:

       Emotional and physical responses:

       Feeling restless, agitated, or irritable

       Feelings of guilt and worthlessness

       Little self-confidence or self-esteem

       Feeling down; a flat mood that doesn't shift; apathetic; empty and numb

       Feeling detached; a sense of unreality

       Little or no pleasure in life or things. Unable to see fun or humour in any situation

       Unable to relate to other people, feeling isolated from them

       Finding no pleasure in life or things you used to enjoy

       Not looking forward to anything or planning anything

       Feelings of hopelessness and despair.

       How you might behave:

       Distancing yourself from family and friends

       Avoiding social events and activities you used to enjoy

       Moving slowly or, unable to rest, always on the move.

Anxiety

Anxiety is the anticipation of trouble, misfortune or adversity, difficulties or disaster. Anyone can feel stressed and anxious from time to time; to feel fearful at the thought of, for example, an upcoming medical test, a presentation at work, a job interview, or an exam. It is a normal response to a stressful, or perceived stressful, situation. Whatever it is that you may be anxious about, you may feel that you've no control over what could happen; how events might turn out and how you'll cope if things do go wrong.

      But, like all emotions, anxiety can have a positive effect; it serves as your internal alarm and prompts you to take necessary measures to prevent the worst case scenario from happening. Most of the time, once the stressful situation is over, anxious feelings subside. There are, though, times when feelings of anxiety are more permanent and entrenched and adversely affect your mental health. Being anxious about how to cope can lead to being depressed because you feel you have little or no control over what's happening.

      Just as the symptoms of depression will vary from person to person, so will the symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety may be experienced in some of the following ways:

       Emotional and physical responses:

       Racing thoughts

       Fretting and ruminating

       Being jumpy and on edge, feeling ‘wired’, tense, irritable, impatient, angry

       Distrusting