Mental health has recently begun to be talked about much more than in the past when it was very stigmatized. But the Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues among the population. How is it being dealt with? In Forbes 2021 Deloitte Global Women @ Work research, "only 33% of respondents described their mental well-being as “good” or “extremely good” compared with 68% pre-pandemic" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2021/10/07/creating-stigma-free-work-cultures-is-key-to-tackling-the-mental-health-crisis/?sh=77dc974471fd)
According to a Forbes article "only 38% of millennials and 35% of Gen Zs have felt comfortable enough to speak openly with their direct leaders about the stress they’re feeling. And approximately 40% say their employers have done a poor job supporting their mental health during the pandemic." This fact shows that mental health issues are in no means being handled perfectly. Mental health is always important but it is especially important to be aware of during these trying times.
I think it's great that mental health is being more discussed now than in the past, but do think that the pandemic was a huge step back for mental health in general. The statistic you provided about the change in mental wellbeing from before and after the pandemic is very alarming. Now, we must move forward and figure out how to provide better mental health resources and equip people better in case there is another lockdown.
Hi Gigi! I found this super interesting. I think that overall we are de-stigmatizing mental health, frankly as seen by the incredibly lucrative wellness industry (which has its OWN set of problems). I wonder if the most pervasive problem despite the market success of mental health comes down to personal stigmatization. Looking at these numbers you pulled regarding the level of comfort one feels in talking about mental health got me thinking, maybe people don’t want to talk about struggling because they see it as a sign of personal weakness. Vulnerabilities usually speak to a perceived risk, so I’m thinking maybe a large issue that is harder to calculate is personal stigma. I will think on this more.
I feel like this topic about mental health is a very important topic to talk about. Many people don't know about the resources there are to treat mental health. I think many people are unaware when something is really taking a toll on their mental. This can really cause someone a deep depression.
I think this is because mental health makes going to see someone to treat it as if you have something wrong with you. All people can take advantage of mental health resources, even if they are not experiencing deep levels of depression or anxiety. I think that people should reassess the role of mental health professionals to be more like personal trainers instead of doctors. All people can take advantage of better mental health.
As someone who personally has suffered from mental health issues in the past I loved that you decided to discuss such an important topic. In the past decade we have seen an overall increase of acceptance of mental health problems. As whole I believe that mental health amongst males is huge issues that is not discussed. As a whole the majority of suicides are men and men are more likely to kill themselves by a wide margin. As a society we need to encourage men to speak up more because even today it is portrayed and unmanly or weak to acknowledge your own issues.