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It is not easy to adjust to work in the face of all the uncertainties and unexpected arrangement in the 5^th wave of the pandemic.  Many of my clients suffer from different kinds and levels of mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, in relation to their difficulties to adjust to changes and challenges in the pandemic.   For some clients with previous history of mental health issues, they may experience an exacerbation of their symptoms.  It is also not uncommon for those with mental illnesses to face crises in their mental conditions due to increased stress at work in this period.  How could we maintain our mental well-being and manage our mental health issues?

For those with history of mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, it is important for them to be aware of triggers for their mental health decline.  For instance, when a client with history of anxiety disorder suffered from insomnia and increased loss of concentration at work, it is important for one to reflect on what triggered these symptoms.  It could be due to the increase in work stress and workload in relation to reduced manpower.  The reduction in manpower may be due to increasing number of colleagues being infected of Covid.  This increase of work stress and workload also exacerbated this client’s anxiety related to difficulty in managing one’s childcare in the family after work.  In fact, triggers for mental health decline at work are diverse.  It could include minor issues such as cold and bad weather for a number of consecutive days, or persistent stressors such as being criticized by supervisor repeatedly without a concrete reason. 

For those with history of mental health issues, it is important for ones to reflect on previous triggers of their mental health declines.  When ones are being able to reflect on previous triggers, it is easier for ones to take precautions when facing high risk situations.  For example, a client of mine reflected that his previous relapses of depression and anxiety are linked with his unexpected increase in workload and work stress.  In this 5^th wave of the pandemic, he could foresee his workload increase due to the increase infection of Covid for colleagues at workplace.  As a result, he paid extra attention of maintaining work-life balance and setting boundaries with his supervisor on work allocation.  These precautions prevent him from a relapse of anxiety and depression in relation to increase work stress in the face of the pandemic.

When it is difficult to avoid increase in workload or work stress in the face of the pandemic, it is also important for us to maintain our mental health well-being by developing habits and routines to cultivate resilience at work.  For instance, setting up a routine for regular physical exercises and mindfulness meditation may be a good way to maintain our mental health well-being.  Physical exercises are linked with the release of endorphins in our brain, which can calm ourselves down and reduce our anxiety and depressive mood.  Mindfulness meditation, such as bringing your awareness back to your breathing without judgment and with acceptance, can also bring you to calmness and reduce your ruminations of negative thoughts. 

Other self-care is also important for cultivating our resilience in the face of work stress, such as minimizing our “screen time” on computers, mobile phones or tablets, eating healthily, maintaining sleep hygiene, and going out to get in touch with nature.  In fact, art creations are also good way to reduce our stress and maintain a work-life balance.  It could also be a channel to express and release our negative emotions related to stress.  Last but not least, maintaining social connection with family members and friends is also of paramount importance for us to cultivate resilience.  It is important for us to have a health social support network.

Sometimes, the stress at work is so overwhelming and it may be inevitable that one may face a relapse in one’s mental health.  It is not a shameful experience for one to experience a relapse given this challenging time.  It is because there are many factors contributing to the likelihood of one having a relapse of mental health issues or not.  If you or your colleagues are facing a relapse in mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, it is resilient to seek effective and appropriate professional help as soon as possible.