Mental health management can’t be an isolated solution

It is necessary that methods of taking care of the mental health of employees should be integrated with the health management system of the enterprise:

Taking care of the mental health of employees during the pandemic should ideally be integrated into workplace occupational safety and health management systems, emergency preparedness and response plans and return to work plans. What could be the preventive and curative solutions that take care of the employee, his family, friends, neighbours and even community groups?

Pallab of Equitas Small Finance Bank maintains that poverty and marginalization have been the most robust links and cause-factor for mental illnesses. And in the Indian context, around 2% of the population live below the poverty line, 1.8 million are homeless, and 73 million families’ lack adequate housing and safety, he says, and catering to mental health needs of such populations requires an altogether different approach that is beyond the traditional one which often focuses only on medication.

SENSE OF COMMUNITY

Priya Vasudevan believes that support groups that bring together mental health patients provide a sense of community. “Considering the patient and care-giver or family as a unit and having a unitbased counselling approach has helped many patients deal with their mental health challenges successfully,” she says.

“One of the best examples of preventive solutions that I have seen is the self-assessment,” says Ramakrishna Vyamajala of HomeFirst Finance. He says there are quite a few tools available in the market and specialized agencies like 1to1 Help, which can help identify the issues people are facing at a very early stage and get the required help.

Healthy habit formation, like in the case of physical health, also helps immensely in the mental space, he says, further explaining that there are quite a few habits related to eating, sleeping, taking breaks, practicing mindfulness, etc, that have proven to be very helpful in managing the mental health of individuals.

“On the curative side, counselling

has been the best approach. Identifying the right counsellor and practicing the exercises regularly have given the best results. We have seen this in our employees. Involving the entire family and friends in the process has been one of the most effective solutions that we have seen in this space. One would need all the support one can get as one faces the issue and then come out of it and in such cases support from the entire ecosystem plays a

significant role,” says Ramakrishna.

SERVICES LIKE ‘1TO1 HELP’

He adds: “At HomeFirst, we have roped in 1to1 Help, a leading EAP provider to offer psychological counselling and comprehensive wellness solutions that help employees deal with various work-life challenges like stress, anxiety, parenting, relationship issues both pre and post marital, work-life balance, etc.

We invested a significant amount of time and effort in the initial stages to spread awareness. This has resulted in high levels of engagement. We have around 80% of the employees logged in to the 1to1 Help portal to browse through with over 30% repeat users, who have spent time in going through self-assessments, self-help material and a few of them have spoken to the counsellors to resolve their issues.”

Sai Suryanarayana of Fincare Small Finance Bank states that there are plenty of things one can do to keep oneself mentally strong, including getting plenty of sleep and sunlight, eating well, reducing stress, exercising, pursuing hobbies and being sociable.

“At Fincare, as part of our `Chalo kuch Carona’ initiative, weekends are abuzz with fun activities such as best dish, best yoga pose, poetry and song competitions, all done online. The `kada/kashyam party’ routine brings about a communityfeeling as well,” says he.

Shwetha Ram of Future Generali India Life Insurance lists EAPs, telehealth programs, resource groups as great examples for keeping one mentally fit. She adds that new mom clubs and single parents’ clubs are emerging concepts in several organizations. With the new normal and the digital boom, the physical boundaries for such resources groups have dimmed and organizations are forming fluid groups to help overcome issues.

GETTING RID OF THE STIGMA

Sunil Wariar of Future Generali India Insurance stresses that the stigma attached to mental health issues should be done away with, and individuals should not shy away from talking about it and seeking help. Talking can be of big help as it makes one feel lighter and assures the person that his near and dear ones understand him/her and are his/her support system, he says.

“Besides, one should keep the communication channels open and keep themselves surrounded with their family, friends, neighbours, well-wishers and community at large. Human beings are