Think about some of the most common questions we ask of children - ‘What class are you in? What do you want to become when you grow up?’. What we never think of asking is, ‘Are you happy today?’ As adults, we remain more interested in the answer to ‘What do you do?’ rather than ‘How are you doing?’ People’s emotional, psychological and social well-being remain quietly in the background.
Yet, here we are today, on World Mental Health Day 2023, reading a blog on mental well-being together. What was once not considered serious enough to be spoken about, or worse, as something that came with a stigma attached, is today not just acknowledged but also supported.
They say, half the battle is won if we accept the problem. In order to spread mental health awareness, our colleagues did exactly that and freely shared their insights about mental well-being. Over just a handful of questions, we managed to start an essential conversation in our software development company in India, Evon Technologies, and Logic Simplified, a unit of Evon.
Number Crunching
We live surrounded by over-stimulation in a world so busy that being still almost seems impossible, and being stressed takes nothing. We asked our colleagues what they think is the most common cause for mental stress.
- 53% of the respondents said emotional problems are the biggest stressors.
- 30% of the people cited financial concerns.
Social, physical and even intellectual problems were voted as causes.
On being asked to share the level of ease or difficulty they had in talking about their mental well-being, this is what we found out.
- 12% of the respondents confessed finding it difficult talking to family and friends.
- 13.8% said it was easy for them to share their thoughts.
That’s a good sign - by a whole 1.8%! There are more people who are comfortable opening up about their issues than those who are not. If this does not portray changing times and positivity, then what does?
Empowerment comes in various forms, and where mental well-being is concerned, just talking about it is exactly that - empowering.
Best Practices
On a usual day in any organization, sharing best practices means taking the most efficient and fruitful routes to solving problems, hence saving company time and money. On a day earmarked for mental health awareness, our colleagues decided to share the best practices they follow to take care of their mental health.
Prayer, meditation, yoga, a healthy diet and a good night’s sleep were shared by many. Hobbies like gardening, nature walks, listening to music or podcasts, and reading are seen as stress-busting too. Socializing with family and friends works for most! Shrish believes ‘me time somehow gives you a wide understanding about yourself’ while Urvashi says ‘enhancing learning’ is her way of dealing with stress. Ashish relaxes by getting away from his laptop as some others remain happy by ignoring negativity and talking to like-minded people.
Mission Statements
How can we help someone dealing with mental health issues? Can we, at all?
100% said a resounding ‘Yes, we can!’
The importance of seeking help from licensed professionals was emphasized even as patience, love, kindness and respect shone through as the four most important qualities needed to support a person dealing with mental health issues. Amit believes that having family and friends to live life with is the best way ahead. Vipul says ‘good talks, good gatherings and good events’ is a winning trio, while Vandana wants people to smile and simply be nice, because ‘it’s the little things that matter.’ And they do!
Vikhyat is of the opinion that building trust in order to encourage sharing is the most important step for helping anyone, and Kamal’s view is that ‘we should focus on what they need at that moment’ and take it from there. Nakul emphasizes the importance of time healing everything, and how individuals simply need some time to themselves to find their zen.
There was an interesting number of very confident ‘don’ts’ in the responses.
- Don’t ask someone their identity, just ask the problem - Vivek
- Don’t say things like ‘You are overthinking’ or ‘It’s not a big deal’ - Anisha
- Don’t lose your cool if they are being unreasonable or intolerable.
- Don't show so much concern that they start feeling something is terribly wrong with them.
And where there are ‘don’ts’ can the ‘dos’ be far behind? Suggestions included:
- Regular office get-togethers to share stories and challenges and build camaraderie.
- Workshops on stress management
- Periodic interactions between the HR and employees to share challenges faced.
- Going beyond designations to form healthy one-to-one relationships with colleagues.
Focus
‘The problem is we only focus on our own problems which makes us weak in the mind.’
Hitesh quotes Lord Krishna, who preached drawing focus away from our individual problems and towards those of others, to feel one with humanity, to help and become braver and stronger in the process.
That is exactly what people at Evon Technologies and Logic Simplified have done, this World Mental Health Day.
Organizations are made up of people. People are made up of thoughts. We have started a conversation within our community, and initiated a cycle - that of sharing of thoughts. It’s important because mental well-being matters.
‘Are you happy today?’ matters.