Meet Ms. Dsouza, My Psychiatrist!

Can you imagine introducing your Psychiatrist at a party just like you introduce your Lawyer, CA or an Investor? Most probably not. A public discussion about mental health seems to be easy for the elites alone.

That’s why the likes of Angelina Jolie going public about their mental health issues are called brave, but ordinary people like us would invite raised eyebrows.

Two years back, during an interview, a candidate mentioned his anxiety issues and the medical treatment he was undergoing. Hearing him, I became a bit nervous. However, my co-founder’s awareness that such issues can be dealt with (without impacting work), helped us to get the guy on-board and work around his schedules (to accommodate his sessions with a Psychiatrist.)

That’s the thing. We wouldn’t like to believe that our boss or the person sitting next to us is going through depression when she expresses anger. We could just believe that he or she is an a** hole or is having a bad day. This way, we would never know that she needs help! She will never say it, and we will never ask her.

Even in my experience of running Psychometric Assessments for companies, I have noticed that while behavioral traits such as Stress Tolerance and Target Orientation are commonly measured during hiring or promotions, hardly 10-15% clients measure Workplace Aggression, Emotional control.

While many of us are in denial mode, the fact is, 1 in 4 people today is going through some kind of mental ailment. We need to figure out ways to make the mental issues as inclusive as our physical health issues at work. I feel one of the lowest hanging fruits to creating awareness is getting employees involved with CSR in this space. 

So next time you see someone getting upset too often, don’t just conclude it to be depression of course, but definitely give yourself and them a chance to think deeper!

Stay Aware, Stay Fit!