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Re: Thanks, ksvt and more on stress, depression links

Posted by ksvt on July 21, 2000, at 23:23:20

In reply to Thanks, ksvt and more on stress, depression links, posted by dj on July 21, 2000, at 11:08:54

>
> > dj - thanks for the response. I'm rather in awe that you would allow yourself to be videotaped. I assume you didn't have to watch >the tapes.
>
> I didn't watch those tapes, though I did sign an agreement about their usage. It's a valuable tool, I believe, for perhaps helping a counsellor pick up on things they may have missed.
>
> I have been video and audio-taped in group dynamic exercises and have learned from re-listening and re-viewing those. I commend the possibility to you and others. Interesting to hear or see yourself, via those media.
>
> >I struggle with the issue of how much of what I go through is triggered by biological factors, and how much by psychological. I have this theory, that does me no justice, that I ought to be able to control my depressions much better than I do, and that since I don't very well, it
> > represents a real lack of will on my part.
>
> It's tough teasing out the distinctions and what environmental triggers may be. The book "Undoing Depression" (http://www.undoingdepression.com) is a good resource on this issue.
>
> I've quoted the following elsewhere on PB and I believe it to be a profoundly important context to consider:
>
> "…as the evidence in this chapter makes abundantly clear, depression is a genetic disorder of being vulnerable to a stressful environment."
>
> Robert M. Sapolosky, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping, 1998
>
> A friend who has struggled with depression, as well, commented that he considered it the best definition of depression he has read anyplace. And he's a pretty thorough guy. The following article in one of Canada's newspapers today also reinforces this view.
>
> Worker stress costing economy billions, panel warns
>
> LOST PRODUCTIVITY
>
> An estimated 10% of the work force is suffering from depression,which often goes undiagnosed and untreated, a report by the Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health says.
>
> VIRGINIA GALT
> Workplace Reporter, Globe and Mail
> Friday, July 21, 2000
>
> Toronto -- E-mail overload, cutthroat office politics and longer work weeks are pushing some employees over the edge, costing the Canadian economy billions of dollars in lost productivity, a panel of business leaders warned yesterday.
>
> The Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health said in a report that, at any given time, an estimated 10 per cent of the work force is suffering from depression, "a pervasive and treacherous illness" that often goes undiagnosed and untreated.
>
> Employees are generally afraid to report mental health problems for fear of being stigmatized, the panel said, and employee assistance plans are underused because of "widespread employee fears of breakdowns in confidentiality."
>
> Change has to come from the top, said former federal finance minister Michael Wilson, chairman of the mental health roundtable and newly appointed chief executive officer of RT Capital Management Inc.
>
> He said he knows of one high-profile CEO who boasts that he does not suffer from stress -- he causes it.
>
> Mr. Wilson's reasons for volunteering to serve on the roundtable, formed two years ago, are deeply personal. His 29-year-old son, Cameron, a successful businessman who suffered from debilitating depression, committed suicide in 1995.
>
> But quite apart from the personal heartache, there are practical business reasons for improving the overall mental health of Canadians, he said at a news conference in Toronto.
>
> "We live in an information economy, it's a brain-based economy, and a healthy mind is very important to the successful operation . . . of the economy," Mr. Wilson said.
>
> Another roundtable member, Colum Bastable, CEO of Royal LePage Ltd., said employers who do not treat their workers well risk losing them to illness or to the competition.
>
> Problems with increased workload can often be eased by clearer communication about priorities, he said. "It's not rocket science."
>
> In a climate of increased competitive pressures, the onus is on employers to create a culture where staff can seek confidential help with health problems, Mr. Bastable said.
>
> Bill Wilkerson, president of the roundtable and senior counsel with communications firm GPC Canada, said stress-related disorders cost the economy more than strikes, plant shutdowns or product defects.
>
> "Depression is by far the leading cause of disability today. . . . We are also seeing people today working harder and longer, but not more productively," said Mr. Wilkerson, former CEO of insurer Liberty Health.
>
> The roundtable is a volunteer organization of senior business executives and health professionals concerned about mental health issues, Mr. Wilkerson said. It does not receive government funding, but is associated with public institutions such as Hamilton's McMaster University. GPC Canada has donated office space and aims to give widespread distribution to the panel's first report, the result of 18 months of preparation and research by Mr. Wilson, Mr. Bastable, Mr. Wilkerson and psychiatrist Russell Joffe, dean of health sciences at McMaster.
>
> With yesterday's report, the roundtable embarked on a public information campaign aimed at educating CEOs about the impact of stress on their workers. The panel outlined some of the steps employers can take to ease the pressure.
>
> Early detection and referrals to treatment are key, Mr. Wilkerson said. If an employee complains that he or she is overworked, the boss should not respond by saying "join the club."
>
> Increased volumes of E-mail, voice mail, and longer office hours are contributing heavily to stress levels, he said.
>
> Employers should install filtering devices on e-mail and voice mail systems to cut down on junk mail, said Mr. Wilkerson, who knows of people who delay going to work in the morning because "they don't want to see that blinking light."
>
> The roundtable report said a principal cause of stress among employees is a "prolonged sense . . . of constant catchup, interruption and distraction.
>
> "Over time, such stress can trigger mental distress, which may further evolve to a medical condition among some. Individuals experience stress when they are forced to spend hours upon hours digging through electronic messages -- some trivial and some relevant to their work -- which build up overnight, during the day or even through the lunch break," the report said.
>
> "E-mail, in this form, contributes to the 24-hour workday."
>
> The roundtable report also singles out "destructive office politics" as a major cause of stress.
>
> McMaster's Dr. Joffe said stress and depression -- "a disabling and deadly disease" -- are related. Depressed employees are less able to remember and concentrate, the quality of their work is affected, and they become pessimistic and without hope.
>
> The economic costs of ignoring the disorder are high, the roundtable said in its report.
>
> "Depression costs the [Canadian and U.S.] economy $60-billion [U.S.] a year; more than half of that in lost productivity."
>
> TOP 10 SOURCES OF WORKPLACE STRESS
> 1. Too much or too little to do. The feeling of not contributing and lacking control.
>
> 2. Lack of two-way communication up and down.
>
> 3. Being unappreciated.
>
> 4. Inconsistent performance management processes. Employees get raises but no reviews, or get positive evaluation but are laid off afterward.
>
> 5. Career and job ambiguity. Things happen without the employee knowing why.
>
> 6. Unclear company direction and policies.
>
> 7. Mistrust. Vicious office politics disrupts positive behaviour.
>
> 8. Doubt. Employees are not sure what is happening, where things are headed.
>
> 9. Random interruptions.
>
> 10. The treadmill syndrome: Too much to do at once, requiring the 24-hour work day.
> Source: Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health
>
>
>dj - thanks for the definition. It pretty much fits in with what my therapist was saying to me not too long ago about not kicking myself for the fact that the stressors that trigger depressions in me might not be at all bothersome to other people. It makes sense, but is still hard to swallow. If the symptoms hang around long enough, you start feeling that this is a life you have chosen for yourself. In response to the article you sent, I find it to be an interesting phenomenon that advances that are supposed to make our lives so much easier, in fact make our lives more stressful. I don't use email alot in my work (although I am using it more and more), but fax machines abound. I rarely "mail" anything now, and most of the letters I receive are faxed to me. It's sometimes hard to recall how I ever got by before fax machines, but on the other hand, fax machines and computers have created an expectation of speed that is frequently crushing. You have to be so much more responsive and there seems to be a deadline to everything you do.

Lastly, I read Undoing Depression last summer and was pretty bowled over with its relevance to me. I just think Dr. O'Connor does a really good job of describing depressed people and how they think and how they react. At the time, I didn't feel I could implement some of what he suggested, but just just reading the book made me feel considerably less isolated. Maybe it's time for me to give it another read. Ciao


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poster:ksvt thread:40900
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000717/msgs/41154.html