Mental Health Matters 100%

Hats off to Simone Biles, an Olympic gymnast from the USA who decided to pull out of the Olympic race, not due to physical fatigue, but rather the mental and emotional toll the pandemic and abuse had put on her life; and good on her for taking a stand. This awesome article highlights in further detail all that Simone has been through, in order to make that all important decision. On the flip side, she gained much love, respect, and admiration from people who know her direct, and conversely from others who do not know her from a bar of soap.

Never before has a (delayed) Olympic Games highlighted the importance of mental health before physical health and endurance, of what is the epitome of the "Olympic Spirit." The Olympic spirit always ingrains in the athletes skulls to never, ever give up; yet in the case of Biles, the battle was already won by making it to Tokyo in the first place, despite the added restrictions and zero crowds in effectively cheering on these athletes to greatness.

Another Olympic athlete, an Australian basketball player by the name of Liz Cambage, completely withdrew from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to high levels of anxiety, mainly due to the pandemic, and the demands placed on athletes living in a small bubble in the Olympic village in order to contain COVID-19. That makes sense, yet living in small living quarters on cardboard beds was enough for Cambage to withdraw from the games, for the sake of her own mental health and wellbeing.

In the heats in some of the swimming races, a few athletes chose not to swim. It is easy to speculate that mental health is the culprit, despite having no physical ailments, or being tested positive to COVID-19.

I am sure that you can appreciate that the pandemic has made us all aware of the need to protect, and to be mindful of our mental health. Not everyone has experienced an impact on their mental health from the restrictions and lockdowns imposed by the pandemic, in addition to many fears around it; yet all of us have lived with some degree of anxiety and depression in our lives at least once; and therefore it is ok to put work aside for a bit, and other priorities in order to seek out appropriate help, treatments and/or rest in order to heal, and to get well as quickly as possible.

Case in point for me personally over the last week. Yours truly lives in Sydney, Australia; a city that is struggling to contain the delta outbreak since June 2021, where I am living under a strict lockdown, and still with no end date. My mental health did spiral backwards, and mainly as a result of the setbacks experienced, and then hearing the news that my brother and his wife in England tested positive for COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated, and recovering days after England fully opened up. They spent three weeks in isolation, and then to hear of a friend a few suburbs away testing positive (also) to the delta strain only a couple of days ago. It did put my mild anxiety and depression into perspective, despite being on day two of taking some natural anxiety supplements. I lost ten hours of my business last week, in order for the owner to take care of her mental health. That time is worth it, and you need to do it, otherwise next week that business may no longer exist.

Everyone responds differently to different mental health treatments, and it is all a trial and error process sometimes. Furthermore, tech giant Atlassian surveyed workers both in the US and in Australia, on the benefits that are most important to them in the workplace during a pandemic. The results were surprising. In fact a total of 64% of respondents in the US, and 69% of respondents in Australia agreed that they will turn down a promotion, if that promotion came at the expense to their mental health and wellbeing. The full results are available by clicking here.

There is a less of a stigma on mental health now, and the pandemic is living proof of that. Many of us (including yours truly) are happy to earn less, and work more on our own terms in preserving our mental health, of which is actually cheaper in the long run. Wellbeing programs are important, yet to another person a positive and supportive working culture may be much more fruitful.

In summary, if a job or calling is detrimental to a person's mental health; the key is to take some time out to reflect and work on that. When that happens, all other areas of life become secondary, and then pivot to being more favourable once any underlying mental health challenges are addressed. Change always begins with you. Now that my mental health is on the mend and on the healthy side again, despite still being in lockdown; I have already noticed that momentum and income success has instantly returned in my business. It goes to show that if things go backwards, it is not necessarily your fault, but simply a reflection of what your mind and body is going through.

Mental health at work is the backbone of what is going on. If you are a business owner, and your business is not going great; then take some time out to work on yourself, and to check yourself out, mentally speaking. Many physical illnesses can also come from being mentally unwell for a period of time. The same goes if you are an employee, and there are some problems at work. The root cause is usually a mental aspect.

Again, hats off to these two brave Olympians for making those tough decisions from truth and authenticity, for the sake of their own mental health and wellbeing.

#mentalhealthmatters