Depressed? Employed?: You Can Cope
You feel as if youire wading through molasses, you find it difficult to make
a decision and your ability to concentrate is shot. Yep, youire feeling
depressed.
This could happen for any of a number of reasons. In todayis
economic climate, it is not unusual to feel pressured about money and work.
This can be a vicious circle. You feel insecure about your job, you get
depressed and you find it harder to be an effective employee.
Employers today are aware of this problem. They see the loss of
productivity and the absenteeism. Hereis the lucky thing for you: The hiring
process is an expensive one, and employee retention is actually very much a cost
saving strategy. Employers do not like high turnover if they can avoid it.
Since you want to do a good job and keep your job, whatis the conscientious
worker to do?
First things first. Get help. Do something.
Most large companies have an employee assistance program. This is a program
specifically designed to help employees experiencing problems in their personal
lives that might be affecting their jobs. These programs are strictly
confidential, and will not reflect negatively on oneis career.
Getting help is completely crucial. According to Dr. Maynard Brusman, a
consulting psychologist with over 20 yearsi experience in the employment
psychology field, doing nothing is dangerous. The more you do nothing, the more
likely you are to believe that you cannot do anything. After a time, you can
fall into a pattern of learned helplessness, believing that if you have done
nothing that there is nothing you can do. Nothing could be further from the
truth.
What can you do for yourself? I mean, even if you go to a counselor, thatis
only an hour a week. So, what can you do?
One of the very best things you can do is get some exercise. Donit be annoyed
because this is being thrown at you all the time! Itis thrown at you all the
time because it is true. The human body is made to move, not sit behind a
desk.
You genuinely need the chemicals your body produces in exercise.
Exercise does not mean a red-line workout that makes you feel like you are going
to throw up. No, no, no. Going for a nice walk counts here. Get the heart
rate up a little for 1/2 an hour or so
<>
maybe break out in a sweat, but even
that is not necessary. You just want to make sure you move. Even if you are in
poor shape, just go walk slowly for a little while each day. You will receive
emotional as well as physical benefits.
The reason igo out for a walki is so often touted as a Good Thing to Do is
twofold. Thereis the exercise component that gives you a stronger body and
floods you with mood enhancing chemicals, but there is the additional benefit of
sunlight. Sunlight is also a proven mood enhancer. People who work in climate
controlled buildings with no windows are going to be more susceptible to mood
disorders related to light deprivation. It is especially crucial for those of
you with such issues to Get Outside on occasion, and a walk will do that for
you.
Keeping company with positive, upbeat people is also a good idea when you are
feeling depressed. You might feel like hiding from the world, but sometimes
getting by yourself and stewing is only going to reinforce negative thought
patterns. Feed your mind with positive things. Play upbeat music. Wear colors
that encourage a brighter mood. Focus on activities that give pleasure.
Eating right is also important when youire suffering from depression. Stress
takes its toll on the body, and doing what you can to keep your body healthy
will make it easier to cope. Do your best to eat a good, balanced diet
<>
especially making sure you get enough of the B vitamins. These vitamins are
useful in combating stress and elevating mood. Foods high in B vitamins
include dried beans, whole grains, fish, dairy products, poultry, eggs, bananas
and avocados. Remember that peanut butter and banana sandwich you ate as a
child? When you make it, be sure to use natural peanut butter on whole wheat
bread and you have yourself some real, healthy comfort food that is high in B
vitamins and will help you to cope with depression.
What do you do if your work performance is suffering? That certainly can and
does happen when youire having a problem with depression at work.
One of the most important things to do is to lay out a plan. Break tasks into
small, manageable units
<>
say fifteen minutes. Even when youire down in the
dumps, you can file for fifteen minutes, or read a report for fifteen minutes,
then take a break and make some notes. This helps to keep you in control and
helps to prevent procrastination, a serious problem in a depressed employee.
Some workers use calendaring programs or timers to break up their day and their
tasks. This not only keeps you focused on the tasks at hand, but can be a
distraction from negative feelings. The one caution here is that you do not
overwhelm yourself in a situation where you might already feel overwhelm.
Schedule breaks for yourself and be realistic about what you can accomplish.
The whole point of breaking down tasks into small segments is to prevent being
overwhelmed. Donit cram your calendar so full that it is impossible to get
anything done. This will contribute to negative feelings rather than alleviate
it. Prioritizing is essential.
I keep a list of iI donit feel like iti tasks
<>
little, quick things that do
need to be done and can be handled easily. When I am feeling a bit stressed out
or unable to cope, I do one of these little tasks. Being able to cross
something off my to-do list tends to restore my faith in my ability to cope.
Any little ten-minute thing that does not take a lot of brainpower but has a
small positive effect is a good thing. For myself, organizing something tends
to improve my mood. Iill clean my desk, or straighten one small file drawer.
This is a fairly individual thing. The only real rule is to make sure that it
is one small thing, and that it is not something urgent or something that causes
you stress or pressure. Itis important to make the list beforehand. Then, when
youire feeling depressed and find thinking difficult, you have a plan.
Talk to your employer about accommodation that will help you in your depression
issues. It is possible that she will be sympathetic. Employers prefer
employees who are proactive, so taking steps to solve your problems reflects
positively on you.
Amy, a bookkeeper in a music store, is being treated for depression and is on a
medication. Her employer knows that Amy has a problem with depression and is
willing to work with her
<>
giving her flexibility in hours and is willing to
keep lines of communication open.
The unfortunate truth is that an employer is not always so accommodating.
Julian, a former employee at a health food store, had this to say, iAt my place
of employment, there were perfectly pleased to have an employee in the herbs and
supplements department who could speak from experience on the various remedies
for anxiety and depression, and they were perfectly willing to encourage the
product reps to give me freebies, but when it came to actually working with me
to let me have a schedule that would allow me to spend a reasonable amount of
time with my family
<>
forget it.i
What do you do in this situation?
Remember the problem with learned helplessness. Donit fall into that. Taking
proactive action is crucial to your personal health as well as your career.
Julianis choice was to get training to become a baker
<>
a job that has a
schedule that gave her time with her family. She also sought out a position in
which she was able to have a wider range of choice in her own work and minimal
customer contact.
Both Amy and Julian had different work situations and different methods for
coping with the problem. This is often an individual and subjective thing,
which is one of the reasons that getting help is a good idea. A good therapist
will help you tailor your solutions to your own individual needs. While
depression is a difficult problem, it is not a hopeless situation. As always,
taking care of yourself is the key. If you cannot handle the big stuff, take
little positive actions. They will have a net effect. But whatever you do, try
to keep going.
© 2004, Noël Lynne Figart