Managing your mental health in business

Mental health is a topic that is often ignored in the workplace, but it is important to understand how it can affect the work environment. 

Mental health not only affects the person in the individual level but also their work too. it’s important to remember that mental health is not about a person’s intelligence. It’s about the individual’s ability to function.

As business owners it is essential to learn how to address potential and emerging mental health issue in our workplace, and ourselves.

It’s no surprise that as we work more in digital ways that many of us are suffering from mental health issues, from anxiety to depression and all shades in between. The world of social media is no exception.

So, what can we do about it?

Fear of discrimination and stigma is a huge reason why more of us don’t speak up and talk about mental health in the workplace. But even if you feel comfortable talking about it to your staff, your boss, to HR, or even your peers, when it comes to your clients and customers — there’s a disconnect.

I understand that, and it’s a valid concern. And yet I think it’s time for that to change.

I want to share a few ways in which you can talk about your mental health, while also working on it and not allowing it to impact your business or brand.

Be open about your mental health.

There’s this stigma out there where people don’t think they can be open about mental health issues. I think this is why more brands don’t necessarily talk about it, especially when it comes to public social media.

But if we look at how society is changing, especially with those of us in the digital world, things have changed a lot. So much so, that some of the most popular and inspiring content in social media, and now television, has to do with mental health. Articles, videos and TV episodes that have been shared and viewed millions of times.

Our customers and clients are on our social channels to look at pictures of our product, to read company news and new things we’re doing. They’re reading our content because they trust us to cover topics they care about. And if they see positive content out there, that promotes open, honest conversation about our mental health, perhaps they’ll start a conversation with us.

It’s this exposure that can help build the trust we have in our community. And by being open and honest about our mental health, both we and our clients can start to bring mental health into the mainstream, which is a good thing for everyone.

Also, the more open you are about your mental health, the more comfortable you’ll become – and the easier it’ll be to talk about it. 

Mental health issues can happen to anyone

It’s so easy to feel like you’re alone in your issues when it comes to your mental health. It’s so easy to feel that you’re doing something wrong, that you’re the reason your mental health is suffering. But that’s just not the case.

The reality is, 1 in 5 people suffer from some form of mental health issues. 1 in 5 people. That means that statistically speaking, at least 20% of your clients or customers will be impacted by mental health issues.

So, it’s likely that some of the people you’re working with or selling your product to are dealing with some kind of mental health issue. They’re likely afraid to talk about it, so by being open about your own mental health, you’re helping to create a space for those with mental health issues to feel comfortable reaching out to you as well.

Use your mental health as a positive

A lot of us use social media to promote our brands and businesses. The more we use social media, the more we’re going to find ourselves dealing with mental health issues.

We’re constantly on social media, looking at other people’s content, looking at what other brands are doing, checking out our competition, and sometimes comparing ourselves.

You have a choice to make here. You can ignore it, and try to pretend it’s not happening. You can let it get to you and allow it to negatively impact your mental health.

Or, you can take control of it and use it to your advantage.

Use your mental health status to come up with new ideas to talk about on social media. Look at how you can use your mental health in a positive way to inspire your clients and customers. Use it to promote your own brand and business in a positive way.

Make it a point to have conversations with your peers in the industry about mental health, and how it affects you.

And most importantly, use your mental health stories to help those around you. 

Mental health issues don’t have to hold you back

We all know that life happens. We all know that sometimes we hit obstacles that feel like they’re out of our control.

Sometimes we have to take a step back, and take time for ourselves to deal with our mental health issues. But it doesn’t have to take us out of the game for long. Many of us have dealt with mental health issues at one point or another, and we’ve come out the other side just fine.

We’ve all got jobs to do, but we also have lives to live. We have lives to live, and that means we have to take care of our mental health.

It doesn’t have to hold you back.

For more information about mental health issues, there are many great resources available on the web. Here are some resources that will help you with managing mental health issues at your workplace:

https://www.headsup.org.au/healthy-workplaces/for-small-businesses

This post was generated by the SimpleMarketing.AI Content Engine with a little human editing.

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