Road to Mental Readiness

Stress, Mental Health and Resilience in the Workplace

Stress Test

3

• What is stress

• Mental health & the

workplace

• Self-care and resilience

• Warning signs

• Stigma & barriers to care

• Creating a supportive

workplace

Overview

Module 1

What is Stress?

What is stress? What causes it? How does it

impact our us?

Stress

Stress is the wear and tear on

the body caused by the need to

adapt to demands in the

environment.

Acute stress - short-term

reaction to an immediate

threat

Understanding Acute Stress

Fight/Flight/Freeze

• Longer-term ongoing

situations

• Remain in fight or flight

• Negatively impacts health

Understanding Chronic Stress

Causes of Stress

Any event in life that a person finds

threatening, difficult to cope with or

causes excess pressure can be a

potential cause of stress.

Organizational

Occupational

Personal

Cumulative Stress

Personal

OrganizationalOccupational

Some workplace stressors are worse than others:

• Highly demanding jobs

• Jobs that require considerable effort but offer little reward

• An accumulation of home and job stress

Stress and the Workplace

Stress & Performance

Mental Health Continuum Model

Module 2

Mental Health in the Workplace

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Mental Health in Canadians

Mental illness, like physical

illness, does not discriminate and

can affect anyone.

According to both the Canadian

Psychiatric Association and the

Stats Canada Canadian

Community Health Survey the

chances of having a mental illness

in your lifetime is 1 in 5 or 20%.

Mental Health in Canadians

By 2020, depression will be the second leading cause of illness and disability behind only heart disease. (WHO)

Of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, five are mental disorders. (CPA)

The vast majority among us will one day be affected by mental illness—whether our own or that of a relative, friend, or co-worker.

Top 3 Mental Illnesses in Canadians

Statistics Canada CCHS 2012

No single factor can explain the occurrence of a mental

illness but it is more likely the interaction of many

different factors.

Usually a number of bio-psycho-social factors work

together to trigger a mental illness.

Risk Factors

Risk Factors

Mental Illness

Historical

-Adverse Childhood

-Family History

-Trauma

Biological

-Biochemistry

-Stress hormone

Psychological

-Stress

-Attitudes/Beliefs

-Negative/distorted thinking patterns

Social

-Lack of social support

-Recent negative life event

-Workplace & relationships

You can do things to manage

stress, stay healthy, and even

improve workplace

performance.

Things You Can Do

Module 3

Self-Care and Resilience

The capacity of an individual to recover quickly, resist, and

even thrive in the face of direct/indirect traumatic events and

adverse situations.

Resilience

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Mental Health and Resilience

Strategies

• Deep breathing

• Progressive muscle

relaxation

• Goal setting

• Self-talk

• Visualization

Controls the human stress response during high stress

situations

• Delivers oxygen & glucose to the frontal cortex

• Relaxes central nervous system

• Calms the body and mind

• Mitigates the effects of cortisol & adrenaline during FFF

Deep Breathing

• Breathe from the diaphragm

• Slow cadence - smooth, continuous cycle of breathing

• Control respiration by forcing the lungs to expand to their

fullest capacity – bringing in more oxygen to the system

• Full exhalations – expel all of the air as you breathe out

through the mouth

• Count of 4’s (if helpful)

Breathing: Skill Description

Enhances performance by teaching how to recognize muscle

tension, and find optimal muscle tension for a given activity

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

• Enhances self-confidence and concentration

• Improves sleep

• Reduces stress and anxiety

• Reduces physiological arousal

• Decreases blood pressure

• Decreases arousal levels at end of the shift

Benefits of PMR

Tense major muscle groups, keep tension sustained for 5 sec

then release for 5 sec, breathe, then repeat with next muscle

group

• Head and neck

• Arms and shoulders

• Chest and back

• Legs

PMR: Skill Description

Goal Setting

Goal setting gives the frontal

lobes information to help

control the amygdala – helps

quiet the fear/panic alarm.

Types of Goals

Outcome Goals: focus on the

“what”: achievement and

attainment – the end state

Process Goals: focus on the

“how”: the steps or smaller goals

that get to the end state

S – Specific

M – Measureable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Time-bound

SMART Goals

Used to focus on surviving for one more minute instead of

what seems like an eternity. Break it down into manageable

chunks.

“What’s important now (W.I.N.)?”

Closed Focus Goal Setting

What we say to ourselves (self-talk) can make the difference

between success and failure

Just because we think something (self-talk), doesn't mean it is

true.

Self-Talk

• Shut down counterproductive thinking to enable greater

concentration and focus on the task at hand

• Monitor self for negative thoughts

• Use cue word or image to interrupt the negative thought

• Replace negative thought with positive or instructional

thought

Thought Stopping

Positive self-talk (positive mantra) is composed of positive

phrases that encourage you to keep on track and work through

challenges. These phrases can be used to get you psyched up,

stay the course, or calm down.

• Short, positive cue word, individualized statements

Positive Self-Talk

Instructional self-talk involves talking yourself through a task

with step-by-step reminders at each phase while performing

the task order to complete it successfully

• Clear, succinct, short instructional phrases

Task-Relevant Instructional Self-Talk

1. Pay attention to what you are saying to yourself

2. Challenge your negative thinking

• What’s the evidence that supports/does not support my thinking?

• Am I 100% sure this will happen?• What would I tell a friend in the same situation?• Am I using extreme words in my thinking such as never,

always, no one, nothing, everything, should or must?

3. Tell yourself helpful things by answering the question

Challenging Negative Self-Talk

What is visualization?

Creating or recreating an

experience in the mind

Three applications:

• Rehearse and prepare

for challenging

situations

• Contingency Planning

• Recovery

• Improves concentration

• Builds confidence

• Controls emotional responses

• Improves technical skills

• Improves tactical strategy

Benefits of Visualization

• General tactics and overall performance

• Specific skills and techniques

• Successful application of other mental techniques such as

self-talk or attention control

• Effective reactions to stress and emotions

• Feelings of a successful performance and goal achievement

What to Visualize?

• Realism

• Perspective (internal vs external)

• Control

• Multiple senses and vividness

• Thoughts and emotions

• Speed

• Duration

• Regularity

Visualization: Skill Description

Optimizing Performance

What is Recovery

• Optimal performance

includes recovery

• Key in psychological

endurance and preventing

chronic stress

• Active recovery is an

intentional self-initiated

goal oriented activity aimed

at regaining one’s level of

working capacity

Recovery Activities

Recovery Continued…

Recovery Continued…

Recovery Continued…

Recovery Continued…

Your first responsibility as union local president is to look after

yourself

You cannot work effectively if your health is poor or you are

under undue stress

Listen to others if they notice changes in you

Watch for warning signs

Care for Yourself

Module 4

Warning Signs

Sometimes the demands placed on us outweigh our available resources

Just as we go to physio for overuse injuries, we may need to seek additional resources for mental health

Beyond the Optimal Zone

Warning Signs

When is it time to seek help?

Yellow-orange zone

• Negative feelings that persist over an extended period of time

• Decreased enjoyment

• Changes in military performance

• Ongoing sleep problems

• Physical symptoms

• Problems negatively impact relationships in your life

Suicide

Not everyone who has a

mental illness is suicidal, and

vice versa

Warning signs similar to “red

zone” characteristics

Always seek professional help

if someone is suicidal.

ACE Model

ASK the individual directly if

they are thinking of suicide

CARE for your colleague by

listening and understanding

they are in pain

ESCORT your colleague to the

leadership, EAP or medical

professional

Resources

Family, Friends

Colleagues, Supervisors

EAP

Spiritual Leaders

Family Physician

Community resources

PSHCP (Sun Life) – psychological services

Emergency room/Hospital

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Union Representative

What goes on in treatment?

Education

Skills building (The Big 4)

• Challenging Thoughts (self talk)

• Arousal reduction (breathing)

• Goal setting (symptom reduction, reestablishing meaningful activities, improving functioning)

• Visualization (overcoming avoidance through gradual exposure)

Individualized application of knowledge and skills

Module 5

Stigma and Barriers to Care

If a person has a broken leg, he/she will seek help.

If a person has a mental health problem, he/she

will seek help.

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Stigma and Discrimination

Stigma – Overarching term

that includes the processes of

labeling, separation,

prejudice, and discrimination

Prejudice – enduring negative

attitudes towards people

Discrimination – actions

or policies directed towards

people that may deny basic

rights

• Begins as discrimination from others

• People come to believe the perceived negative judgments

• The negativity is eventually internalized, lowering self-

esteem

• The result is many individuals do not seek assistance,

promotion or recognition.

Self-stigma

Acceptability barriers

• Prefer to manage it themselves

• Did not get around to it or did not bother

• Stigma

Limited knowledge

Financial costs

Access to resources

Time barriers

Barriers to Mental Health Care

Module 6

Creating a Supportive Workplace

Behaviours for a Healthy Workplace

• Be respectful and civil to

others

• Be inclusive

• Communicate positively

and openly

• Ask your co-worker how they are doing

• If a co-worker discusses his or her mental health problems

• Do not diagnose your co-worker

• Be respectful of a co-worker’s privacy

Supporting a Co-worker

Video—When a Co-worker Returns to Work

The Role of Supervisors

SHIELD SENSE SUPPORT

• Get to know personnel

• Watch for behaviour changes

• Advocate

• Educate

• Familiarize yourself with HR polices and MH resources

• Set example

• Foster healthy work environment

• Ensure demands are realistic for yourself and your staff

• Increase employee control over their work

• Reduce effort and tension

• Increase rewards

Shield

• Minimize stressors

• Provide opportunity to rest

• Identify unhealthy situations

• Support

• Intervene

• Consult

• Identify resources

• Refer

Sense

• Involve resources

• Ensure support

• Maintain respectful contact

• Respect medical limitations

• Minimize rumors/Manage unacceptable behaviour

• Include personnel in section/departmental activities

Support

Road to Mental Readiness

www.canada.ca/caf-mental-readiness