Work plays an important role for a person recovering from a mental illness. The workplace provides a social support system and the opportunity for people to regain their sense of self-esteem, control and self-worth.
Although in some more severe instances a return to work is not possible, once on the path to recovery, many individuals can benefit tremendously from working again. A supportive workplace can offer a sense of stability that is otherwise hard to find.
The reintegration of an employee into the workplace after recovery again requires the employer's flexibility. Often the process has to be gradual. The workload may have to change temporarily and hours and days worked may have to be altered. Job sharing and people working with an emergency fill-in person are considerations depending on the individual's and employer's needs.
The benefits of understanding
The benefits to the employer of accommodating the return of an employee are many. They avoid the added costs of hiring a new employee, and training and raising him or her to d level of productivity comparable to that of an experienced worker. Overall morale will rise as employees see the care placed on the individual, and coworkers share in the challenges faced by the returning staff member.
Employers and employees alike will always benefit from breaking down the stigma attached to mental illness in the workplace. Removing the barriers to education, open discussion, flexibility and acceptance will ultimately allow those needing medical attention and social support to seek help and receive it.
Everyone knows when to go to the hospital in a physical emergency, but what are the warning signs of emotional emergencies? When and how do we get help for these urgent conditions? Most of us fear and/or dread mental illness, so it's hardly surprising that emotional emergency is a widely taboo topic. This accounts for why many of us lack the insight and resources to deal with urgent emotional situations in our own lives, or in the lives of our friends and families.
It benefits all of us, however, to understand how we can respond to these events, which can be just as life-threatening as severe accidents or physical illnesses. According to Roderic Gorney, M.D., a Los Angeles, Calif. psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and professor of psychiatry at UCLA Medical School, "Not only are friends and family members very capable of handling these crises that come along, but every once in a while,
you run into someone who has a great understanding of human nature." Although most people may not be experienced with mental illness, says Dr. Gorney, "They have had decades of experience trying to figure out people's minds. Never undersell your own intuition and never ignore your own experience," he advises.
Before you can help the situation, it helps to have a diagnosis. "In mental health," Dr. Gorney says, "the average person doesn't realize that there are very specific diagnoses for feeling terrible emotionally." What you do about your condition, or someone else's, depends on the diagnosis. "A generalized anxiety state could have a medical basis, a stress basis, or could be a result of a conflict that the individual is placed in by someone else," Dr. Gorney explains.
While traumatic life changes, such as loss of a spouse, parent, job or health often trigger emotional emergencies, physical illnesses may also precipitate them, says Dr. Gorney. "Certain sudden anxiety experiences may be due to physical causes, such as the rare adrenal tumor," he says. In the case of sudden manic psychosis, such as when someone with a very high fever is deluded and is physically combative, they may need acute medical care to save them from a fatality. Dr. Gorney advises restraining the individual and calling 911 for paramedics in these cases. Individuals who become suicidal or show signs of acute onset depressive psychosis must also be restrained while someone calls 911 for help.
In less dramatic emotional emergencies, such as when people experience modest depression or anxiety and/or start exhibiting changes in diet, weight, sleep, job attendance, mood and behavior, individuals can seek a psychiatric referral from a primary care provider. "If you're not getting referred," Dr. Gorney says, "you have to push on it. Speak with your care manager in the HMO or insurance person who can authorize that kind of a consultation."
Many health insurance plans fail to cover psychiatric referrals and some people lack insurance altogether, but low-cost resources can be located via your local or state psychiatric society. Your local hospital and county medical association are other possible sources for information on low-cost mental health clinics.
"Art Buchanan's story of personal revival absolutely inspiring! He's one of the foremost experts in overcoming mental illness and what he knows can transform your life!" Mike Litman Host - Worlds #1 Personal Developmental Radio Show (http://www.out-of-darkness.com)
