Why does mental health matter to businesses

“Stigma's power lies in silence. The silence that persists when discussion and action should be taking place. The silence one imposes on another for speaking up on a taboo subject, branding them with a label until they are rendered mute or preferably unheard.”
― M.B. Dallocchio

Here are a few facts about me:  

I lost my brother to suicide nearly 10 years ago.  I have volunteered in suicide prevention and mental health for the past 7 years.  I have been a psychology and public health student for 12 years now.  I suffer from social anxiety, PTSD, and bouts of depression.  In short, I know a thing or two about mental health and mental illness.

Mental illness is important in business.  

Employers are slowly realizing this as fact, and are slowly trying to incorporate policies and plans to support employees.  Health insurance plans, thanks to the Mental Health Parity Act, are starting to treat mental health coverage similar to coverage for other chronic conditions.  Locally, one of my health care partners, Family and Children's Services of Mid-Michigan, recently wrapped up a "Stomp out the Stigma" campaign for May's Mental Health Awareness Month.  The campaign brought business professionals throughout Midland County together to campaign for better mental health in our region.

http://dialog.studentassociation.ca/index.php/mental-illness-the-power-of-stigma/

There are fairly disgusting statistics in our country based on mental health problems in various industries.  I, having worked with small and large companies throughout the country, have seen the causes and effects of mental health issues and how they are handled.  I see plenty of room for improvement, but starting that conversation with businesses and individuals is not an easy one.  There's still stigma attached; people feel that the PC way to approach mental illness is to not approach it at all.

Treating mental health and mental illness as a taboo topic is not helping.  Treating the brain separate from the body causes and perpetuates stigma.  Companies can help to support their employees by receiving training on how to help them with mental illnesses.  There are screening programs that can help companies with assessing potential problems so that plans can be established.  There are ways to involve community health programs to bring services directly to employees who need it.  Mental health awareness events should be the norm throughout the year for businesses.  And employees should be comfortable talking about their issues with trusted people.

This ideas really feeds into my ideas and plans for building community.  

One of the statistics that stands out to me is the amount of time people spend at work to other countries, especially tribal communities where mental illness mostly a non-issue.  If people are expected to spend 1/3 of their waking hours for at least 5 days out of the week, there needs to be more opportunities for a supportive community.  Mental health awareness should be a part of corporate culture.  If it doesn't, we can't fix the problems associated with mental illness.  If it doesn't, we can't sufficiently have a supportive system to help with mental illness.  If it doesn't, we run the risk of our friends and family members not having the support they need in an environment where they spend nearly 95,000 hours of their lifetime.  And that shouldn't be acceptable anymore.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur