Before You Talk About Mental Health At Work, Read This

Trigger warning: Suicide, suicidal ideations

The past couple of years have been mentally and emotionally difficult for everyone. For those on a mental health wellness journey, the difficulty of these years has made preserving your mental health so challenging. Lately, more people have been losing their battle with the darkness of mental health and unfortunately have been committing suicide. I know that the ideation of suicide is hard for people to understand. Furthermore, the decision to act on those thoughts is hard for people to comprehend. This is a reminder for those who are in office spaces or shared workspaces to be careful of their words about mental health.

Lately, my coworkers have been commenting on recent suicides of celebrities and other local tragedies. I try not to judge others when they have discussions about suicide, but it is incredibly hard to hear coworkers say things like, “I can’t understand why this person or this celebrity committed suicide.” The follow-up comments range from “They’re so selfish, I could never…” and “How could anyone make this decision?” These comments can be disappointing to hear when you have been fighting your own mental health battle. Listening to these discussions brings back the reality of mental health understanding. I quickly lose faith in the sincerity and empathy of people while reducing my desire to communicate with people that I trust about my feelings and difficulties.

When having conversations about suicide at work or even around people you might know, be aware of your choice of words when speaking about the tragedy. These comments might be discussed in front of someone who wanted to express themselves to you. That person might not feel trusting enough to communicate with you as a friend. The other concern is after expressing their feelings, they must deal with the possibility of judgment resulting from expressing their suicidal ideations.

It is incredibly hard opening up to people about your mental health journey. It can take months of weighing the pros and cons of telling someone and the potential consequences of admitting those feelings to people around you. Will my friends and coworkers treat me differently? Will they call the police on me? Just because someone has suicidal ideations does not mean they plan to act on those thoughts.

Sometimes people need someone to talk to separately from their therapist or psychologist for support. It helps to release those feelings so these thoughts are not swirling around inside their heads. Hiding these thoughts can create a heavy burden, or it can feel like they are hiding a massive secret from those around them. Remember, people around you are fighting the good fight and working on their mental health to stay present every day. Be kind to those around you and think about how you discuss mental health in society.

Know that you are not alone. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health journey, here are some organizations and resources to help:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).

Lifeline Crisis Chat (online): https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/

Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org/ or Text HOME to 741741.

Veterans Crisis Hotline: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/, call 1-800-273-8255 or Text 838255. Chat online: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help-now/chat/

Trevor Project: https://thetrevorproject.org/ or call 1-866-488-7386.