In case you don’t know, October 10th is World Mental Health Day as declared by the World Health Organization.
The day’s primary goal is to bring mental health issues to light and to spearhead efforts in order to combat them. It’s an opportunity for all stakeholders—individuals, companies, organizations, and groups—to talk about the work they are doing in terms of mental health and the work that still needs to be done in this space. Ultimately, the goal is to make mental health care, if not a priority, at least a reality for all humans worldwide.
We all have different daily stressors---some we have anticipated and others we just get surprised by. It depends on where we are currently at in life, regardless of age and status. Working individuals who spend eight to nine hours at work, sometimes, even more, get stressed because of their jobs. There is no right balance of the amount of work and fulfillment that leads to feeling burnt out and exhausted even before the work starts. Because we spend most of the hours of our days at work, we can’t sometimes separate work and our personal lives. Sometimes, it’s work that affects our personal relationships. Other times, our personal lives affect work.
Whatever the scenario is, mental health is an important topic to discuss and address because it affects our behavior, actions, and thoughts that hinder us from living our best lives. We also tend to act rudely to others, strangers, and those we love when we are not in our best mental state. We’re here to help keep your mental health in check through the following ways below:
1. Exercise
Research has proven time and again that exercise helps reduce anxiety and stress and has the power to uplift someone’s mood. When you exercise, you release endorphins which are happy hormones and would generally make you feel upbeat and motivated. Exercise also helps sharpen focus so that you could set your mind on things that matter at the moment instead of worrying about something that happened in the past or what could happen in the future.
Even with a busy working schedule, it’s not impossible to inject movement and incorporate exercise into your daily life as a 9 to 5 employee. FlexiSpot has three desk bike options: the Sit2Go 2-in1 Fitness Chair, Bike Workstation V9, and the Under Desk Bike V9U. All these have a height-adjustable seat, a whisper-quiet pedaling system, customizable resistance levels, and a calorie tracker. They also come with caster wheels that it’s easy to glide the chair around the room if you just need a breather from work.
Aside from a desk bike, FlexiSpot also has nine folding treadmill options that can be placed under your standing desk, and you could change the speed depending on the activity that you are doing. It comes with a rubber belt that is spacious enough for anyone to walk or run on at a pace you dictate. Once done using, the treadmill options can be easily folded and tucked away under a sofa, a bed, or on the corner of a room.
Both these exercise equipment transform sedentary work into an active form that will help an employee lose weight (if that’s the goal) and be more alert and focused at work. Plus, it keeps them motivated and running on endorphins!
2. Take breaks
You’re not a superhero so learn to take breaks now and then. Get up and walk outside. Make sure you’ll take your lunch. Go talk to someone who comforts you or does an activity that has made you happy in the past. Take breaks and commit to them by not letting distractions steal away the time you have set for yourself.
3. Communicate
Observe office culture and assess how you will communicate best your personal problems if any. If your superior is open to this, let him or her know how you have been feeling lately. If it’s not that open of an office, head to the human resources department and have on record what you are open to disclosing. It’s professional that they know what is affecting your work. They don’t have to be in the know with everything but just the bare details of the things that are affecting your work performance will help you deal with your problems in the office.
4. Meditate
Meditating for at least five minutes a day helps make a practice out of it. This mindfulness habit allows someone to be present at the moment, to notice distractions but not let negative thoughts suck the best out of them, and to focus on what the body is feeling at the moment of meditation. Deep breaths can help give a person a sigh of relief especially in highly stressful situations. It’s easy to go to a corner yourself and to shut down distractions and listen to your deep breaths as you inhale and exhale.
5. Make friends
It’s not that misery loves company but having friends at work who understand your predicament might help. It doesn’t mean you have to be friends with everybody either or that you have to share every little thing that is happening with your life but if one or two of the people you trust the most in the office knows your mental health issues, it would probably help ease the burden. These people see you at work so they would most probably have valuable input as to what you could do to address mental health issues brought about by work.
6. Know about your company’s benefits
Most companies offer consulting sessions so if you know your health benefits, you could make the most out of it. The best way to address mental health issues is to seek professional help after you acknowledge that you need it. The shrink would most likely help you understand your problems more and to address them better.
7. Declutter your workspace
Perhaps another thing that is troubling your mind is a messy workstation. It becomes overwhelming just to look at the pile of work you have to do in front of you. Take a deep breath and clean your workspace one item at a time. It helps to have storage solutions installed in your workstation so it’s easy to declutter. FlexiSpot has a Mesh Desk Organizer, a three-tier desk organizer where you can put your desk items and see them all through the mesh. Its bottom pull-out drawer is compartmentalized and will help you segregate your desk items.
8. Take a longer vacation
Sometimes, all you need is rest to recharge and come back stronger!
