Mental Health issues are one of the most crucial issues in public health especially in these pandemic days due to rising cases of mental health disorders which are possibly caused by the pandemic itself or other issues related to personal problems.
As such, mental stigma occurs that should also be an issue that should be addressed by mental health experts. Mental stigma or discrimation is one that is sometimes not brought in public and causes more suffering, economic difficulties, etc. among those patients having mental disorders.
Mental disorders, as we all know, have ill effects on how a person feels, behaves, and thinks given serious stressors. They could be chronic and could affect the patient’s behavior in relation to others. There are different factors that could lead to mental disorders that should be given utmost attention especially when an individual’s personality is not strong enough to surmount those stressors around him.
Some examples of stressors in the office are:
- Lack of motivation due to unrecognition - some workers feel they are not given due recognition when they perform well in the office. While others are given due recognition, others are not given such equal attention even with verbal reward or recognition. An encouraging remark can make an employee motivated but lack of it in some instances may result to being uninspired and unmotivated
- Interpersonal relationships are not smooth sailing - workers mingle with different personalities in the workplace that they have to cope with while performing their job. Being ostracized or treated differently may cause stress among workers that such treatment could cause friction between workers and could cause aloofness
- Heavy workload - there are instances that workers are given workloads that have to be worked on for longer hours. They are sometimes inevitable as for example influx of paperwork that is too much to handle. This may cause workers to feel stressed and dissatisfied. Overtime work, even if it's paid, may not be appreciated by a worker because of the stress and fatigue that it can bring to the worker.
- Job insecurity - these days that the pandemic is still threatening us, job insecurity is common among workers and financial problems arise. Such problems may trigger more stress as it entails more serious problems when unemployment stays longer.
- Company changes and training - organizational changes entail changes in workload, supervisors, work assignments, etc. that employees have to cope with. Even training could trigger stress because training entails change in the organization. Other employees abhor changes and training because another adjustment and coping must be made that could add worry and stress to them.
- For female workers, sexual harassment could possibly happen and that could also cause more stress in the workplace as they could have low morale being sexually harrassed by those higher-ups and they have no one to turn to, to avoid it.
With such stressors coming from the workplace, employees or workers may face serious emotional stress that could lead to anxiety and depression. When left untreated, it may lead to mental disorders. Mental disorders, according to an online article published by the World Health Organization or WHO, “include: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other psychoses, dementia, and developmental disorders including autism.”
And the “most common mental disorder is depression which is about 264 million affected worldwide. Sadly, more women are affected than men.” may be because women think about problems more seriously than men and they are confronted with more problems, domestic and professional-wise.
The good news is that mental disorders can be treated with different interventions including physical activities such as exercises and also therapy treatments doctor’s prescriptions.
However, chronic mental disorder can also cause mental stigma or discrimation when left untreated or when it is chronic or prolonged without intervention. Mental stigma, like other forms of discrimation cause the patience more emotional distress as such could ostracize the patient from others. It will also affect the social and economic condition of the patient as the disease has to be treated for a longer period of time.
I can also cause suffering and disability for the patient. As such, mental health stigma should also be addressed as soon as possible with the appropriate interventions coming from the mental health experts and also from the immediate families of the patient.
Some ways or strategies to reduce if not totally eliminate this kind of stigma such as:
- Increasing people’s awareness and cultivating the right attitude towards mental illness and mental stigma
- Mental health education programs should be developed so that mental stigma is reduced or eliminated. In fact, according to an article published online, the World Health organization or WHO has initiated surveys and mental health assessment systems for mental health education programs in South Africa (https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpsy/article/view/54357).
- Social media can also be tapped to disseminate information on mental health education and mental stigma to a larger audience worldwide. There could also be personal meetings with mental health experts in the community to educate community dwellers about mental health education and mental stigma as well as how to reduce or eliminate such discrimination.
The meetings could be held and what a great way to explain the issues and educate people on mental health and mental stigma through a Height Adjustable Whiteboard Standing Desk from FlexiSpot. This standing desk will be an effective medium to lay out plans for the lecture and education of the community members.
The Height Adjustable Whiteboard Standing Desk has a dry-erase whiteboard desktop which has a smooth and durable surface for jotting down quick notes and can be easily wiped and cleaned with a dry cloth or eraser. As such, preparing and writing information for mental health education is made easier with efficiency.
The desktop is easily convertible into a more functional whiteboard with five (5) adjustable handles to select flexible angles. It can also be moved around easily as it is mounted on four (4) easy-rolling caster wheels. The advanced keypad has three (3) programmable presets that you can easily save your favorite seated, standing, and under-desk cycling heights.
Preparing a lecture on educating and disseminating important information to a larger audience are made perfect with this wonderful height adjustable whiteboard standing desk.
