STEPHANIE LEARY

mental health advocate and Sane Australia speaker

Balancing complex mental illness and a job has always been an enormous task for me. Since the age of 18 when I first underwent treatment for bulimia, to an extended hospital stay at 22 after my first suicide attempt, I have had to lie about my medical appointments and sick days in fear of workplace discrimination, judgement and the loss of my job.

Like one in five Australians, I live with mental illness, and like many of us, I can go about my daily duties without my mental health affecting me or the pursuit of my career. In the past, it wasn’t so simple. I would have episodes of an evening where I would fixate on suicide or self-harm while curled up on the floor of my bathroom sobbing so hard it hurt, unable to sleep. I would still show up to work the next day, pretending everything was perfect, just to avoid the conversation and consequences around the sick day I would have otherwise taken.

I have tried many different tactics to find the right combination of honesty and privacy with my employers to avoid discrimination and judgement. However, I’m yet to be part of a workplace with an effective policy or procedure that addresses mental health issues. The reaction you receive is often subjective to the opinions and prejudices of an employer, who can be severely uneducated around mental health.

Suicide is the biggest killer of Australians aged between 15 and 44. It’s vital we advocate and educate from the top levels down to implement correct policies identifying workplace incidences that cause or contribute to mental illness and act to eliminate or minimise these risks. By doing this, we not only improve the quality of life of one in five Australians, but it will also reduce the cost of workplace absences and increase staff loyalty and performance.

“I’m yet to be part of a workplace with an effective policy for mental health issues”