Mental Illness

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotions, thinking or behaviour or a combination of these. Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/ or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.

Mental illness is common. 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health issue of some kind each year in England. 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem like anxiety or depression in any given week in England (Mind.org.uk).

There are different types of mental illness:

• Anxiety disorders including panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias
• Depression, bipolar disorder and other mood disorders
• Eating disorders
• Personality disorders
• Post-traumatic disorder
• Psychotic disorders including schizophrenia

A mental illness may be occasional or long-lasting (chronic). They can affect your ability to relate to others and function each day. There is no single cause for mental illness. A number of factors can contribute to developing a mental illness including genes and family history; life experiences, such as stress or a history of abuse, especially if they happen in childhood; biological factors such a chemical imbalances in the brain; traumatic brain injury; feeling lonely or isolated.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, poor mental health and mental illness are not the same. A person can experience poor mental health and not be diagnosed with a mental illness. Likewise, a person diagnosed with a mental illness can experience periods of physical, mental and social well-being.

Signs and symptoms

A person with a mental illness may have difficulties with the following areas, depending on the disorder:

• Emotions: People who are struggling with their mental health may seem irritable, sensitive to criticism, demonstrate an uncharacteristic loss of confidence.
• Cognition: A person may make more mistakes than usual, have problems making decisions, or not be able to concentrate. Look out for any sudden and unexplained drop in performance at work.
• Behaviour: This could include things like arriving late, not taking lunch breaks, taking unofficial time off, not joining in office banter, or not hitting deadlines, becoming more introverted or extroverted, generally acting out of character.
• Physical: People with a mental illness will sometimes exhibit physical symptoms such as a constant cold, being tired at work, looking like they haven’t made an effort with their appearance, or rapid weight loss or gain.

At a business level, employers need to look out for increased absence or staff turnover. Notice employees working longer hours or a general drop in motivation or productivity levels.

Ideas to support inclusion

Small adjustments in approach can have a significant effect on the long-term outcomes of a person with a mental illness in the workplace:

Culture: Develop a Mental Health Policy – having a concrete policy reassures employees that their company cares about their wellbeing. Create a culture of openness and awareness by encouraging people to talk about mental health.

Working practices: Encourage staff to take regular breaks away from their desks and get out of the office to reduce stress. Introduce a power-down hour, where everyone steps away from their email. Review job descriptions to make sure these set out clear and realistic expectations of staff. If not, this might be contributing to, or even causing, mental distress amongst your employees. Think about how success is measured and people are rewarded.

Communication: Use staff newsletters, posters in communal areas, and other internal communications to raise awareness of mental health. Introduce discussion about mental health at staff meetings – use them as opportunities to check in with staff about how they are feeling or how they would rate their stress levels and why. Conduct regular staff surveys to take a temperature check on wellbeing and feedback results and progress to staff.

Management: Train up management – if employees know their boss is clued up in mental health matters, they may feel more comfortable in coming forward to discuss any problems they may have at work, or even at home. Make sure line managers spend time with staff and get to know them – this makes it easier to spot when they’re struggling or behaving uncharacteristically at work.