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Finding the right work environment, when there are so many wrong ones

People working
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

In previous blog posts or videos, I’ve talked a bit about a toxic work environment. And while I worked at Impraise, I got to study a lot about what makes a good company culture. Yet it only occurred to me not so long ago that there is more than one type of negative or toxic work environment, which is what I’d like to talk about today.

I used to believe that a toxic work environment was the classic “Devil wears Prada” or “Horrible bosses”: people getting yelled at, intimidated, and whole bunch of fear tactics.

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Consciously choosing life over work: how to find a balance

In my last two blog posts I’ve been talking about our relationship with work and how it affects our mental health. Generally speaking, the workplace has a huge impact on us – including our mental health. Working in a negative environment can be really detrimental. If everyone around you is demotivated or unhappy in their jobs, or if everyone is extremely stressed… no matter what it is, it will affect you.

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How we define success at work, and what this means for our mental health

How we define success at work
Success

A topic that’s been on my mind for a while is our definition of success, particularly when it comes to our professional lives. Ultimately, I believe it’s the source of a lot of stress, and can end up being the cause of burnout and other mental health issues we experience at work.

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Why you should talk about mental health at work

Why we should talk about mental health at work

For the longest time, talking about mental health at work has been a taboo. Have you burnt out? Don’t mention it or people might think you’re weak! Seeing a therapist? You must have something seriously wrong with you!

In general conversations around mental health have been taboo, mostly because there has been a big misunderstanding around what it is. If people don’t understand depression, or view OCD as “quirky”, it makes it harder for them to empathize with those who are experiencing an issue. There has also been a stigma around mental health, with people being viewed as “crazy” or good to be booked into the psych ward. But the truth is, mental health is not as black or white as it’s portrayed.

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Mental health: finding the people who understand you

Relationships and mental health

I’ve been blogging about mental health for a while now, but I’ve not yet talked about finding or creating your own support network. And yet, this is probably one of the most crucial and valuable things you need to get through it. I’ve talked a bit about helping colleagues, but this time I’d like to refer to your “inner circle”, or those closest to you.

Once again inspired by the Sanctus podcast on mental health, I listened to them speak about the importance of relationships for mental health, and couldn’t believe I had never addressed it beforehand.

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Overcoming workplace trauma and restoring your mental health

workplace trauma

I often joke that I have PTSD from some of my previous assignments, but if I’m honest with myself, there is some truth to it.

Of course it’s not as extreme as for example, for war veterans or victims of abuse – but I genuinely believe that you can leave a work experience feeling scarred. The negative experience and consequences you carry with you can feel traumatic and affect your behaviour in your new workplace and with colleagues, which of course, you don’t want. So today on the blog, I want to tackle the topic of workplace trauma.

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Real-life mental health stories: living with depression

Major depressive disorder

This blog post is part of an interview series for mental health awareness week. In this series, different people give their perspective on living with a mental health condition.

In certain cases as with the interview below, people have had the courage to reveal their identity. This is brave, as it can be difficult and daunting. Congratulations to them!

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Real-life mental health stories: a lifelong battle

This blog post is part of an interview series for mental health awareness week. In this series, different people give their perspective on living with a mental health condition.

In certain cases as with the interview below, people have had the courage to share but were not comfortable revealing their identity. For this reason, the interview is anonymous.

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Real life mental health stories: burnout was the catalyst

burnout

This blog post is part of an interview series for mental health awareness week. In this series, different people give their perspective on living with a mental health condition.

In certain cases as with the interview below, people have had the courage to reveal their identity. This is brave, as it can be difficult and daunting. Congratulations to them!

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Real life mental health stories: living with anxiety

Anxiety
Picture by Headspace

This blog post is part of an interview series for mental health awareness week. In this series, different people give their perspective on living with a mental health condition.

In certain cases as with the interview below, people have had the courage to share and to some extent, reveal their identity. This is brave, as it can be difficult and daunting. Congratulations to them!

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Real-life mental health stories: suffering from OCD

OCD

This blog post is part of an interview series for mental health awareness week. In this series, different people give their perspective on living with a mental health condition.

In certain cases as with the interview below, people have had the courage to share but were not comfortable revealing their identity. For this reason, the interview is anonymous.

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My mental health story: part 1

Two years ago I published a blog post called “Living with anxiety“. It was my first step towards sharing my story about mental health, after which I slowly started to feel more comfortable talking about it.

For mental health awareness week 2019 I am publishing a series of interviews in which other people share their personal stories of living with mental health. The idea is to raise awareness and share different perspectives so others can identify, feel less alone, and perhaps even have hope.

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A mini interview series on mental health

Emma Brooks mental health

As I have been going on this journey with mental health, I have met many people along the way who all have their own stories to tell.

In fact, one of the things that inspired me to start sharing my story was hearing from others. Every time I heard from a friend or an acquaintance of some sort of hellish situation they were experiencing at work, I knew I was not alone.

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How to react if a colleague tells you they have a mental health problem

How to react if a colleague tells you they have a mental health problem
Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy from Pexels

Cue: this ridiculous stock image is certainly not the right answer.

One of the reasons we’re still struggling to address mental health issues, is because of the stigma that comes with them.

In the past (and probably still today), telling someone you were seeing a psychologist was often met with raised eyebrows as if to say “oh no! They must be crazy” or “they must have serious issues”. Same with the word depression, people have a concerned look and are worried your’e suicidal, don’t know how to respond, take pity on you or are worried you’re going to become a burden.

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Mental health definitions & FAQs

mental health definitions and FAQ

Today I am covering a topic I had so far overlooked, but that is really important. When blogging about a topic such as mental health, most people may not be 100% sure what it is, and whether the topics I cover are relevant. Or perhaps you’re asking yourself “is anxiety really a mental health disorder?”

Even though mental health is getting increasing attention, it still remains a topic that has not been talked about for years, therefore it’s only normal that the terms around it are still not clear. So here is my attempt at providing some definitions, which I hope will be helpful.

Let’s start with the difference between mental health and mental wellbeing.

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