Getting back on track after seeking help

Professional help and support at work are crucial. – 123rf.com

SOME working Malaysians who developed mental health issues found themselves back on track with their lives and careers after finding the courage to seek help.

Doing an excellent job at work, Andy*, in his 40s, was promoted from an executive to department manager with a large team to take care of.

But being in a managerial role meant he was responsible for more people in his team, and it led him to constantly question his own ability.

“I also frequently wondered if I was in any way competent enough to be evaluating my department’s work,” he says.

Such thoughts, together with burn out, led Andy to suffer from imposter syndrome – a psychological occurrence when someone doubts his/her skills and capabilities and fears being exposed as a fraud.

Thankfully, he sought professional help after staying in the role at work for a year.

“I decided to get help after I started to miss more days of work in a month and avoided meetings in the office to a point that I was chided by my superiors,” he says.

This further lent weight to Andy’s thoughts of being inadequate, which spilled over to his home life where he started questioning his ability to be a father and husband as well.

He became unable to function socially and occupationally, and met the requirements for a depressive disorder.

But through therapy, Andy was able to work on his insecurities, resulting in becoming functional again at the end of treatment.

Another company executive, Shirley*, 35, also faced challenges at work and sought help to get her life back in control.

A big cause of her mental health troubles was not due to work but caused by her splitting up with her husband.

“I was constantly feeling low, irritable, had poor sleep and difficulty focusing on my work,” she says.

Shirley was also repeatedly called up by her superiors for poor performance; they said they were surprised at her deterioration, given that she was previously a highly motivated worker.

“My close friends outside the workplace knew I was struggling in my new role as a single mother while my family blamed me for the separation,” she says.

After visiting a psychiatrist, Shirley reported that she was sick with fever and cough.

However, the human resources department at her company called and told her it was OK for her to take time off to get mental health treatment and she could come back to work when she felt better.

With appropriate therapy and support she received at the workplace, Shirley gradually returned to her old self within a few months.

*Names have been changed.