By Hannah Whitesides, Retreat Leader & Fear Management Specialist for our Company Virtual Retreats

Although I didn’t know it at the time, when I was growing up, my parents taught me the importance of mental health. I was always encouraged to talk about my emotions and never questioned the validity of them because I was taught that mental health is just like a broken bone that you can’t see.

Here are three reasons why this is accurate and why we need to treat mental health with the same respect as a broken bone. 

#1: Taking Time To Heal

Let’s say that you were a football player and you broke a bone. Your coach would likely tell you to lay on the couch all day so that it will heal properly. This is a correct response because if your coach would have told you to suck it up and play you would not only play horribly but you would end up more broken than you were before. When someone is in a negative mental state they physically cannot operate the same as they do when they’re in a positive mental state. Mental health days should be accepted because we are not machines, we cannot run all the time. However, since mental health isn’t an excuse to stay home from work we are forced to ‘play’ which leaves us operating at a low standard and in a state of constant decline.

#2: Visual versus Non Visual

If you’ve never broken a bone before you won’t fully understand the pain but you could imagine how painful it could be. As humans when we don’t understand something we always try and compare it to something we do understand so that it helps us relate. People who haven’t gone through mental health issues, like anxiety, depression, or PTSD, have no basis of visual comparison so it’s impossible for them to imagine the extent of the pain or it’s consequences. Mental health struggles can be just as physically debilitating as a broken bone yet they are sometimes taken as seriously as a paper cut. 

#3: Association 

When I was young, I had a tragic accident when my family took a trip to the mountains. I was catapulted and fell 25 feet. I landed on a jagged piece of wood sticking out of the ground that split my head open down to my skull. I couldn’t go to the mountains for about 3 years because it reminded me of the pain I endured. When someone is in a depressive state or something similar, they associate their surroundings with their discomfort and pain. This can directly affect their work environment if they begin to associate it with their stress. In college, I had my desk in my room and I would do my schoolwork there.

Over time I realized that I could never get enough sleep. It would take me hours to fall asleep or I would wake up in the middle of the night. I finally put two and two together. By bringing my work into my space of relaxation I unknowingly brought my stress and anxiety with me to bed every night no matter how hard I tried to get rid of it. 

During this time in our world, it’s crucial that we take mental health seriously because it can lead to catastrophic consequences if we don’t. CEO’s, Executives and leaders: if you want to help your employees succeed, be understanding. If an employee is struggling, be compassionate about the time it takes them to heal. Don’t try to understand their struggle because everyone feels things differently. Finally, think of ways to mix up your work environment so that association doesn’t happen.  

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Project Passport is a proactive mental wellness company that aims to bring mental wellness retreats, workshops and other services to company teams. We also help women create joy in their lives every step of the way. To learn more about our company retreats and services, click here. To learn more about our tribe community for women, click here. Our travel retreats will resume in the future as the world reopens.