2021_Alabama_Grocer_Issue_3

1 5 MINUTES WITH…

Okay, last question: What are some simple changes you recommend at an individual level? What about smartphone apps like Calm or Headspace? There are increasingly good articles in business press on both the business case and resources. I do think there are non- pharmaceutical interventions that can be

A couple of things that, certainly for me, have helped and are good things generally: Really take sleep seriously. Get enough of it and take the time to recharge when you’re burnt out. Vacations matter, take them. There are reasons why there are people insistent that people take them. And turn your social media and email off when you’re doing it. Exercise and healthy eating are important too. Just being able to clear your head and get out into nature or in a gym, however you do it, developing health habits are good ideas. All those things are just kind of common sense things that are important to do. The last thing I’ll say is this is really a human issue. We need to be able to recognize we are all human beings and there are stresses, many that aren’t related to work. Be aware and be a human being to your fellow workers and family members. It makes a big difference if someone says something and is paying attention. And if you’re the person going through a mental health challenge, you often don’t know you are. If it’s the first time you’re having a substantial episode, as it was in my case, I had no idea what was going on. It took my family and a couple close friends to really insist I get some help. Otherwise I wouldn’t have known what was going on. ■

address it if you aren’t prepared to openly discuss mental health. So that’s the first thing to do. The second thing you’re going to immediately get into is what is your benefit package and how adequate is it for issues of mental health. And adequacy not meaning is it theoretically available, but how good is it and is it practically available. In my circumstances I had the privilege of having a very generous healthcare plan, and because of that and networks and things, I had quick and immediate access to really quality support. But I’m not delusional enough to think that wasn’t a function of privilege as opposed to typical circumstance. For mental health issues, especially if they’re more pronounced, it’s just not helpful to say dial this number and we’ll get back to you or sure we have access to a therapist or support but it’s going to take three months to get help. You know, when you break your leg, you get sent to the emergency room and they treat you right there. Mental health challenges, especially if they are in severe circumstances, it is not only unhelpful, it is worse to not get help when you think you’re getting help. So you have to stress test your program, and I would encourage leaders to not do that theoretically. Have someone, or if you can do it yourself, call it and find out what support you get and how quality is. I’m pretty sure most will find out it’s not adequate. That’s partly a function of the fact we are dramatically under-resourced in our mental health capacity in our healthcare system. Like a lot of other things, we have a system for treating things when they are severe as opposed to preventing them or catching the early and that’s got to shift in this world too.

really helpful. Everything from mindfulness support and the apps you were describing to monitors like Fitbit. You can look into things that monitor your sleep patterns and use technological ways to start the conversation. I said before, the doctor that’s treating me, I’ve never met in person. It’s all been on video and that would have been unthinkable before a little while ago and is practical for many. “Culture change is hard and it starts at the top with commitment to do something about it.”

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