Practice 4: Self-Care Orientation: Self-Screening and Stress/Crisis Inoculation Planning
Help people self-detect emerging suicidal thoughts or other related mental health concerns (e.g., depression, anxiety, anger and substance use issues) early in the development of these problems and link people to helpful resources and supports.
Work to reduce stigma about asking for help and embrace a culture of health, not of shame. Teach people to plan for crisis before they are in crisis.
Communication and increased awareness about risk is a critical piece to helping people identify a possible crisis and responding early to seek help.
Why is this important and what does this practice entail?
Sometimes working aged adults get overwhelmed trying to manage the daily urgency of job demands and personal life demands. During stressful time, self-care is often neglected. It is easy to let the “important but not urgent” self-care activities and even prior good habits be cast aside when you feel a flood of deadlines and expectations pressing down.
Workplace stress within limits is healthy and necessary — challenges help us grow individually and collectively. When this stress starts to overwhelm one’s ability to respond and copy, it can have a direct and negative effect on multiple areas of health, psychological injuries and illnesses can result.
Watch the Video
Action Steps:
1. Host a screening day: https://www.helpyourselfhelpothers.org/ — anonymous and confidential mental health self-screening of workers
2. OPTIONAL: Participate in one of the national screening days or coordinate your own.
• National Depression Screening Day (October)
• National Eating Disorders Screening Day (February)
• National Alcohol Screening Day (April)