Depression is the most common mental health disorder in the workplace 1 and affects about one in 10 employees. Mental illness, when untreated or under-treated, often manifests as a performance issue, such as absenteeism or compromised productivity. The annual economic, indirect cost of mental illnesses is estimated to be at least $79 billion. Most of that amount–approximately $63 billion—reflects the cost of lost productivity. Mental illness causes more days of work loss and work impairment than chronic health conditions such as diabetes, asthma, arthritis, back pain, hypertension, and heart disease.
What’s the solution?
Let’s say you’re an HR professional, or Supervisor, and one of your Direct Reports has a heart attack, what do you do? Chances are you’ll know what sort of First Aid is required. You’ll start CPR, and continue until someone arrives with the paddles, and yells “Clear.” But what if you’re an HR professional, or Supervisor, and one of your Direct Reports confides in you that they are depressed? Will you have any idea what sort of Mental Health First Aid to administer? Are you in any way qualified to be a Mental Health First Responder? Before you can know how to help, you need to know when to help. It’s what’s called mental health literacy—or a basic understanding of what different mental illnesses and addictions are, how they can affect a person’s daily life, and what helps individuals experiencing these challenges get well.
As a comedian, speaker, and mental health activist, who battles depression, Frank will teach your group, with a healthy dose of humor, on these topics:
• Depression and mood disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Trauma
• Psychosis
• Substance Use disorders
Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency—the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, use their strengths to stay well, and return to full productivity.
When Frank speaks, you’ll learn how to properly apply the Mental Health First Aid action plan in a variety of situations, including when someone is experiencing:
• Panic attacks
• Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
• Non-suicidal self-injury
• Acute psychosis (e.g., hallucinations or delusions)
• Overdose or withdrawal from alcohol or drug use
• Reaction to a traumatic event