I had a blog post on today’s BSHRM chapter meeting ready to publish but I didn’t like the tone so I’ve scrapped it and started over.
The presenter for today’s meeting was from Behavioral Health Systems here in Birmingham Alabama (aka The Ham) and her topic of choice was Depression in the Workplace. I know what you are thinking because I thought the same thing, snoozer. But it really wasn’t, the presenter was lively and tried her best to keep the information informative but not boring as hell.
What stood out for me was that many people suffer from depression but fear talking with the EAP or visiting a doctor because they are afraid of the potential stigma that comes along with being “depressed”. One statistic indicated that the major cause of disabilities for people between 14 and 44 was depression.
Soap Box Warning!
I think at some point in our lives we all suffer from some level of depression/the blues, I’ll be the first to admit that I have. If you know someone that suffers from depression, urge them to seek help from a qualified health care provider and not just some pill pusher. Please let them know there is no “record” in your HR office that labels them as depressed and they won’t be first one the list for the next round of layoffs because they have sought treatment.
-end soap box
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I was so unimpressed with the way an EAP provider dealt with an employee who suffered from depression it led us to finding a new EAP provider. Depression is not like a virus that is treated in a common way with all patients, but is individually assessed and treated.
Life is hard, and getting help is part of the process.
Thanks for soapboxing!
@Tim I think it’s sad that many health care providers try to treat all depression cases the same. I went in many moons ago for cluster headaches and came out with a 6mth prescription for Prozac, for headaches. While I understand in some cases that might help but I had never seen that doctor before and that wacko gave me Prozac straight out of the gate!
Good post! At my workplace, we do urge employees to talk to the EAP too. However, I’ve noticed that they are not worried about HR forming a list, but they are more worried about creating distance with their co-workers.
As someone with their fair share of issues I’ve always found writing & other creative outlets very helpful. But it’s also nice to have someone around (EAP) to have an unbiased perspective on what’s going on. Great post adowling.
@HRStore – I’ve never had trouble with getting employees to talk with the EAP once they understand what it is and how it can help.
@deathinfrance – I find writing therapeutic as well, if I published everything that came out of the end of my fingers I would drive you people insane. Thanks for stopping by!