Top 10 tips for battling mental health issues at work

Work is full of setbacks. It wouldn't be called work without them.Although everyone experiences setbacks, but not everyone knows how to deal with them.Here are my top ten tips for staying mentally strong at work: 

It’s not life and death

Unlike the amazing people in medical, rescue or military professions, for most of us, our jobs do not involve life and death situations. When I’m stressing about a marketing or investment strategy I need to remind myself to chill out and put things in perspective.

I always have a choice

Whenever things are getting tough, I like to remind myself that I could always make a change and do something else. Owning what I’m doing and acknowledging that I could choose to change is really important to me. 

Worry about what I can change

Brexit, interest rates, and R&D tax credits are all things I have no control over, so why stress about them? Instead, I put myself under pressure to change the things I can actually change. 

Be the “man in the mirror”

Whenever things get difficult I try to imagine someone else coming to me with the challenges I’m facing. What advice would I give them? Does that advice apply to me? Probably .

I’m human

I find it really hard to not be too hard on myself. Sometimes it helps, but at other times it’s way too much, and that can be really counterproductive. Striking the right balance is a constant battle. I need to remind myself that it’s OK to fail: if I can learn from it, it makes me better. 

Have a bath

I don’t meditate, but I love taking a long soak (over an hour) with a few candles on the go. I find that by clearing the mind, ideas and thoughts that were buried in the bustle of everyday life come to the surface. Note: I do this at home, not in the office. 

Own my feelings

If I’m upset, angry, frustrated or sad, in the past I may have tried to ignore these feelings. But owning these feelings and not suppressing them allows me to think about where they have come from and decode why I feel like that in the first place. 

Reflect

Reflecting on where I am over different periods of time, enables me to constantly adjust where I’m going and what I need to improve. I find that reflecting daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly really helps. I find doing this with my team or manager also helps you understand how everyone’s doing and how you can support them. 

Check my values

What’s really important to me, and why do I value those things above everything else? Understanding my own value set and aligning it with everyday situations help ground me and helps me surround myself with healthy people. 

Be a Phoenix

This is a little deep to finish with, but I love the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou. It reminds me that we all have to go through hard times in order to feel life’s positives. Our history, our past and how we were brought up really affects how we feel and act now. So when times are tough, I try and remember “I will rise, I can rise, tomorrow is a new day and I can make myself anew”.

By Eamon Tuhami, CEO and Founder at Motivii