Alert of the Month
Sarah was a good supervisor and she knew her crew very well. It had been a productive and safe year but when the pressure to produce was high, Sarah started noticing some problems. Some of her crew were easily frustrated and the good natured joking was now more mean spirited. Sarah had been around long enough that she knew to nip this in the bud and get the crew back on track.
She found some good information and resources on mental health and started talking and coaching her crew, one‐on‐one. She was surprised by what she heard back from her workers. There were lots of stressful events, many non‐work related, that were affecting them and leading to some significant mental health concerns like anxiety and depression.
After this, Sarah made a point of always checking on the mental health of her crew on a regular basis, building up the positive attitudes to make sure they could stay safe, focused and enjoy their work.
Six Signs of Good Mental Health
- I feel like I’m reaching MY POTENTIAL.
- I feel like I BELONG.
- I make the world a BETTER PLACE.
- I DON’T WORRY about what others think of me.
- I ENJOY my life.
- Knock me down and I’ll GET BACK UP again.
What is mental health?
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, mental health is more than being happy all the time. It’s about feeling good about who you are, having balance in your life, and managing life’s highs and lows. Everyone deserves to feel well, whatever their mental health experience. And we all need a support system to lean on.
How to Improve Your Mental Health
Check out the following webpages for resources, information and tools to help improve your mental health and the mental health of your co-workers.
- Mental Health Week - May 7-13th. Check the Canadian Mental Health Associations (CMHA) page for more information. https://mentalhealthweek.ca
- Man Therapy – A hilarious site that also provides excellent advice and resources. Try the Head Inspection: http://mantherapy.org/
- Suicide Prevention Resources from the CMHA:
https://cmha.ca/documents/preventing-suicide
- Excellent video on the effects of depression:
https://vimeo.com/159136856
