Mental health defined by mentalhealth.gov is the emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is how we handle a crisis, stress, and emotion for that matter. Sometimes a lot of pressure in our life can come from both personal and professional lifestyles. At our jobs is where we spend most of our days, so taking care of our health, both physical and mental, is becoming a hot topic in the workplace. Mental health in the workplace can be a pretty daunting subject.
For some, if you have never experienced any area of mental health, it may be hard for you to understand, which is okay! There are so many aspects to psychological health that we are now talking about it more often, and people know are understanding that it is just like a physical illness. You cannot help it.
Because of this, we are going to share with you a few tips and tricks that help with mental health in the workplace:
Keeping essential oils by you.
One of our team members has a mini diffuser at her desk, and it has been a blessing. Even on the days she isn’t stressed, it helps to keep her balanced. She also keeps a roll-on with essential oils next beside her. Essential oils are pure natural scents. They come in blends, or you can blend them yourself! They help people focus, become energized, and feel calm.
Listen to music.
Another part of taking care of your mental health it listening to music that either makes you feel relaxed or happy. If your workplace allows that, then it helps most people feel focused and on task.
Head outdoors.
Sometimes when the weather allows it, and you are feeling in a funk at work, taking a quick break to go outside and get fresh air makes a huge difference in your workflow. Sometimes around 3 pm (when it is so close to the end of the day) is a great time to go and take a quick walk around the block and get out of the office.
One thing that is huge when dealing with everyday stress and emotions is pinpointing that you are stressed or what is making you feel overwhelmed. After you notice that you are feeling anxious or stressed wherever you are, but particularly in the workplace, you can calmly go for a quick walk, listen to music, whatever personally works for you. The minute you can tell yourself that you are feeling down, anxious, or all the above you can take that next step that helps allow yourself to feel better. Just as if you were coming down with a cold.
When some people take a break from their work, they will talk and confide into a close coworker because talking about it helps. Having people aware, and communicating with them that you are dealing with mental health helps them become more understanding. We all get it, and life gets crazy, stressful, and overwhelming so the more we talk about our mental health, the easier it gets.
Your environment matters.
Creating an open environment in the workplace is a massive step in the right direction. Picture this: it is your first day of starting a brand-new job. You are already nervous not sure what to expect. You sit down with HR, and they mention that mental health is essential here and that they want you to take care of yourself. Your boss talks about keeping their door open all the time for you to stop in and chat if you need. You have coworkers sharing stories about their mental health. You instantly feel welcome and at home. Mental health can be a daunting topic, but the more we embrace and talk about it, the easier it is to take care of yourself. You will notice you are becoming more productive, and you are getting less stressed. You see a difference in your work and things are looking up from here.