Lessons from a CFY: Mental Health (Week 11)
Lesson 10.1: Getting Through a Bad Week
In any job, it’s inevitable that there will be really bad mental health weeks. We have our good weeks, and we have our bad weeks. That is totally acceptable and expected. Negative thoughts can be rampant. They can bring down your motivation, mood and self-confidence.
Firstly, It’s important in these times to recognize and accept these thoughts as they come. Our natural tendency may be to ignore these thoughts and push through, or try to process them later. This usually doesn’t work, as the thoughts are present in that moment and not acknowledging them can lead to more intense feelings and emotions later, maybe even the same day.
Steps for Working Through Tough Moments
There will be times at work where I feel crying or a panic attack coming on. In those moments, these are the steps I follow:
Stop everything- Anything you are working on, it can wait. It will be more productive if you work through it in that moment, and your mental health is so important. Again, if you try to ignore, the emotions will come back even stronger.
Change my environment- (go outside, take a walk around the office, sit in my car). Most of the time, this is all it takes! That transition often helps me get out of a tough moment without the next steps.
Seek support and/or physical touch- I struggle with initiating this step on my own, but one time a coworker came in during a moment of high panic for me, and her words and hugs really helped me de-escalate in the moment I was spiraling.
Meditate- Sometimes I just close my door, turn of the lights and meditate. The CALM app has amazing meditations for all kinds of moments, and some are even just 5 minutes or less. You can pick your topic and even your length of time. Oftentimes this has really helped me even at my worst moments.
Call someone- If I’m really struggling, sometimes I will call someone to just distract myself and get some support from someone who knows me well.
Leaving Work
Take the day- If possible, and nothing else has worked, take the rest of the day off, or try to lighten your schedule. The way work is set up in the USA, I don’t know if this is always an option, but it should be! Mental health should be included in “sick days”- but that’s for another post.
I hope these tips help the next time you are having a tough moment at work.
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