Mental Health at Work

The WHO defines mental health as "a state of well-being in which each individual fulfills his or her potential, can cope with the stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute something to his or her community". A distinction should be made between mental disorders, which are illnesses and require medication to treat them; and the daily battles of life, which include symptoms of disorders such as depression or anxiety, but which have to do with life.

These daily battles of life have been medicalized, when they should not be. Pain is part of living, and negative emotions are a defense mechanism, which we must know and know how to interpret.

Fear, for example, arises in a situation that could be dangerous; cycling can be very pleasant, if we ride in a park or a bike path, but it can be quite dangerous to ride on a road where drivers do not drive at the right speed. And that is where fear arises, which will activate the senses to be more alert. So, the emotion of fear is necessary.

Mental health is as important to your personal well-being as it is to your physical and occupational well-being. Taking care of it is one of the most important tasks you should perform, as it could prevent you from physical illnesses and work-related discomfort. The latter, because with mental health, it will be easier to develop the soft skills that have taken so much priority in organizations when making decisions about employees. Teamwork, flexibility, adaptability, openness, helpful leadership, responsibility, decision making, among others, are the result of emotional intelligence, a product of mental health.

Basic steps to improve mental health:

• Sleep well
• Don't just feed yourself, nourish yourself with all the food groups.
• Exercise. Physical exercise releases endorphins that will improve your mood.
• Make time to visit nature. Studies show that visiting nature directly influences immune function and camping regulates sleep phases.
• Include diversity in your activities. Explore new activities from time to time, from gardening at home or having a garden, to sitting and watching the sunset, to extreme activities like skydiving.
• Take a look inside yourself, recognize your strengths and points of improvement and start working on them.
• If you have gone through many negative events (breakups, layoffs, job changes, grief, among others) seek professional help.

Mental health is the door to enjoy life, with it is possible to see the positive in the negative and is a direct pass to develop all the soft skills required to adapt to the labor market and grow professionally. I invite you to question yourself how you are doing in this area and work on it if necessary.

Rosa Fonseca Brenes

Psychologist

MBA Organizational Development