Mental Health Awareness Month: The Importance of Mental Health in the Corporate Workplace

Mental Health for Busy, Career-focused Professionals

The corporate grind can be challenging. For many of us, we spend the majority of our available hours per week at work. These hours vary day-to-day, and depending on our situation there are unique challenges to each workplace setting. Whether we are at home, in an office, or have a mix of both, our mental health is certainly on the line.

In the ever-demanding landscape of Corporate America, it may seem like even taking a short lunch break is a lot to ask. The never-ending to-do-lists, messages, pings, slacks, meetings, presentations, performance reviews, difficult conversations, late-night emails, etc. can weigh us down and cause our mental health to suffer.

Burn Out, Stress, Anxiety, Overwhelm

When we look at the design of our day as a corporate, career-focused individual, we quickly begin to see why we feel so burnt out. Everything seems compartmentalized and we generally lack any sense of healthy, harmonious cohesion. What do I mean by this? I mean that we generally sit (I recommend stretching or standing sometimes) for most of the day looking into a computer screen. To make up for this, we go to the gym or yoga class after work or try to squeeze in a bike ride in the morning. When we add up the hours, this leaves little room at the end of the day. Most of our activities are isolated and cut off from each other.

We are stressed and overwhelmed because our jobs are demanding and busy, we get little break throughout the day, we cram any sense of exercise early in the morning or in the evening, and then we have to take care of kids, pets, homes, cooking, and cleaning beyond that. In general, it seems it takes everything we have sometimes just to make it through the average age, and that is without the exceptions: sick kids or pets, car issues, home repairs, doctor's appointments, etc.

Accessibility to Mental Health Care for Working Adults

With all of these obligations and commitments, it can be a big burden to also try to squeeze in an additional weekly or bi-weekly 55-minute appointment for our own mental health. We may prefer to see someone in-person, and this may end up taking up two hours including the commute. Virtual sessions are a good option for this type of situation. Also, some counseling practices are conveniently located. Our practice is conveniently right off the interstate. So, in short, services are available for the busy professional, but it is our responsibility to prioritize our own well-being!