For the past 70 years, May has been the chosen month for mental health awareness. Mental health matters, and it changes over time - how you or your employees think, feel, and act can be affected by factors like workload, stress, and work-life balance.
With the challenges and mental burden of the COVID-19 situation, a movement has emerged to create more transparency and empathy towards mental health issues. A recent survey resulted in the following mental health statistics:
1 in 5 Americans experience mental illness each year.
1 in 20 experience serious mental illness.
1.5 million live and struggle with schizophrenia
7 million live with diagnosed bipolar disorder
19.4 million live with major depression
48 million struggle with anxiety disorders
While global crises can and do certainly lead to a spike in these numbers, staying mentally healthy is a year-round, daily, even hourly endeavor. So here are some tips to help you and your staff thrive :
Focus on the positive.
It’s normal to grieve after the loss of a job, loved one, or a relationship. Try to periodically and routinely remember the good times and focus on hope.
Create healthy routines.
Healthy routines include eating a nutrition-rich diet, exercising, and getting a good night’s sleep. But don’t beat yourself up if your routine changes every day - just make sure to take it one step at a time. Routines mainly serve to give a sense of normalcy even when the world is in chaos.
Understand your feelings.
The past year has been hard to handle for most people, and it can be easy to get caught up in all the feelings. Take time to identify what you’re feeling, to understand the reason behind the feeling, to realize that the feelings are natural. And then, you’ll find yourself better able to cope with challenging situations.
Connect with others.
Making connections with other people can help you get through even the toughest times. Whether in person or virtually, don’t hesitate to lean on your friends, family, or support groups. Thanks to technology, it is now possible for you to access mental healthcare online through telemedicine and virtual therapy.
There’s no such thing as too early when it comes to getting the right kind of benefits at the right time, through the right provider. If your company is based in NY, you can get access to telehealth benefits for your team’s mental health right now through Aetna, one of NY Small Health’s partner companies.