It is tough when someone you are working with has to battle it out with a mental problem. But it can be helpful if one co-worker knows what to do to support that colleague. It will help everyone cope up with the sudden change of things. Work is a huge event for many of us. We spend the majority of our time working, we tend to have more contact with other people in the work place and it is where we make our money. To be fulfilled with your work is one thing to consider if you want to have a sound mind and healthy mental well-being. Work can be stressful at times but it can be means for us to cope up with all the other things that we go through in life.

Work can be tough on you if someone you work with is having a rough time. He could be dealing with a loss of a loved one or something else. Other problems such as marital and family troubles may be driving your co-worker to his limit. Other mental health issues like having panic attacks or depression could also be a reason. Your co-worker may be described as having an emotional crisis or that they are having a nervous breakdown. Either way, as friends and as colleagues in the workplace, we can do our share of help to support those in need.

It is very important that you know what to do when someone is at their breaking point. It will make a huge impact to your colleagues or friends when they know that someone is there to look out for their wellbeing and sanity. You may feel powerless at first but with good intentions, you can go on and offer your help. To be able to work in an environment where all the members are being cared for can increase their chances of coping up with their problems.

Mental health defined

How a person feels and thinks about himself and his life can largely affect his behaviour and his coping mechanisms when he has problems. It will affect the person’s ability to do his best in his work and to care for his family and friends. It also affects his relationship with his community and his colleagues in the workplace. Being mentally healthy is a large factor that affects physical health. Being mentally and physically well are essential things to lead a fulfilling life.

When something is messing up with your co-worker’s head, his performance will suffer the most. He could distance himself from others, be down and depressed, highly irritable or quiet. Aside from his personal life, the financial aspects of his life could also come to play to affect his mood and disposition. One cannot avoid but bring his troubles to the workplace so to avoid being affected by your co-worker’s slump, knowing what to do to comfort or support him will help a lot.

Sometimes, pressure can make someone do better but in most instances, this is not the case. How you view things, even with problems, can have a large effect on how you respond to situations. This is different for everyone especially since other people may be more resilient than others.

Mental health problems

Mental health issues are big factors that influence a person’s behaviour, feelings and thoughts. These are problems which medical professionals are able to determine through proper diagnose and not through personal weakness. These problems are very common and about 25% of the population go through this stage at least once in a year.

Depression and anxiety are very common problems. These two conditions affect one or two out of ten people. These conditions can become severe and long-term problems and it will affect the person’s capacity to go through his life normally.

Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are severe mental illnesses which afflict about 1 to 2% of people. People who have been afflicted with these disorders tend to lose their touch with reality. They may begin to hear voices, be delusional, have hallucinations or hold grandiose and unusual beliefs about themselves or the world in general. They see themselves as very important and they construct conspiracy theories about everything. No two people will react the same way to a disease or mental disorder even if some symptoms are very specific with certain mental problems.

People who have been diagnosed with mental problems may keep their diagnoses to themselves for fear of being stigmatized. This is the time where support of the colleagues or family and friends should come. They should encourage the person to continuously seek medical help as it can the person return to being normal.