The subject of mental health is often met with dismissive attitudes or jokes. The truth is that mental health is not just a clinical diagnosis or something that requires medication. It is an important part of life that affects everyone.
Mental health is defined as “a person’s cognitive, behavioural and emotional well-being”. In short, it is the level of health of a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours. We all have negative and positive mental health in our daily lives when we interact with others and through our own inner discourse.
In this blog, we will delve a little deeper into the effects of mental health on our bodies, how to manage it and how it is affected by high-stress jobs, such as physical security services.
How mental health affects our bodies
Stress is the typical term people use when talking about mental health, but stress is only part of the picture. Negative mental health has many effects on our emotions, our physical body and our behaviours.
Emotional effects include
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Lack of motivation
- Irritability/anger
- Sadness or depression
- Feelings of overflow
Physical effects include
- Headaches
- Chest pain
- Fatigue
- Stomach problems
- Sleep problems
- Muscle tension
Behavioural effects include
- Over or under eating
- Outbursts of anger
- Drug and/or alcohol abuse
- Social withdrawal
- Less or very little physical movement
These are not the only negative effects on mental health. People can suffer from hair loss, increased sensitivity to pain, reduced fertility and skin problems. Poor mental health is no joke and can lead to serious emotional and physical consequences.
Taking care of your mental health
If your body is not functioning properly or your finances are not stable, it will have many negative effects on your mental health. But it works both ways. If you are not mentally healthy, your body will start to deteriorate and you may lose sight of your finances.
There are many ways to maintain positive mental health, but we’ll take a closer look at exercise, meditation and nutrition.
Exercise
You don’t have to be a strong man or a full-fledged triathlete to reap the mental health benefits of exercise. A good rule of thumb, especially for someone who is simply building an exercise routine, is that every move is a good move.
Physical activity has been proven to reduce and relieve levels of anxiety, depression, stress, ADHD and trauma. While it decreases the negative aspects of mental health, it increases energy levels, sleep, memory and self-esteem.
If you don’t have a workout or exercise program, some excellent starting options include walking/running, boxing, Pilates, yoga, cycling and resistance training.
Meditation
People hear meditation and start thinking about hippies and monks. But meditation is a useful exercise to train the mind, just as physical fitness is an exercise to train the body.
Good meditation has been proven to lower blood pressure, anxiety, stress and feelings of overwhelming. And while it decreases these negative things, it increases our relaxation and ability to concentrate.
Many people think that to be effective, you have to be silent for hours, like a Buddhist monk. That is certainly one way to do it, but there are many types of meditation tools.
Meditation applications are a great way to start learning more about mediation and the type of mediation that works best for you. These applications are designed for beginners and will allow newcomers to take meditation training.
No one starts meditating for hours at a time. In fact, many people never meditate for hours, but the benefits of daily 5-minute meditation practice have incredibly positive effects on mental health.
Nutrition
Eating well allows your body to function properly. This includes your physical and mental state. Too much sugar and carbohydrates with too few fruits and vegetables makes your brain foggy and your body lazy.
Eating well-balanced meals and snacks does not necessarily mean following a strict diet. There are simple ways to maintain healthy eating habits, such as:
- Limiting sugar intake
- Eating nuts
- Minimizing junk food consumption
- Maximize fresh food consumption
- Drink more water
- Get enough fibre and probiotics
Like the other tips listed, learning how to maintain good nutrition doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start slowly and develop a healthy routine over time. Soon you will be eating the foods necessary for a healthy mind and body.
Mental Health in the Workplace
The workplace affects an employee’s mental health in a number of ways and the impact this can have on a company’s success.
Workplace stressors include, but are not limited to:
- Job insecurity
- Unclear tasks or objectives
- Poor leadership
- Poor corporate culture
- Uncomfortable physical environments
- Long hours
These stressors can cause your employees to work at levels below what they are capable of. They can impact an employee’s ability to interact with other employees or even customers. Particularly in the area of physical security, workplace stressors can affect an officer’s physical ability to conduct guard visits or routine patrols.
So what can security business owners do to foster positive mental health in their operations?
Create a supportive culture that provides employees with clear direction, rules and values.
Advocate for a healthy work-life balance. Officers who have too many occupational therapists don’t have time to spend with their families or decompress from the burden of protecting property or individuals, especially in high crime environments.
Discuss mental health in the office. Don’t allow it to be stigmatized. The more open you are about mental health, the more likely the officer will seek out the tools or resources they need.
Send anonymous surveys to understand the environment that has been created within your operation. If there is room for improvement, your officers will tell you what they need to maintain their roles and responsibilities in a healthy manner.
This list is not exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of how mental health plays a role in the effectiveness of your agents and how the environment you have created as a business owner affects your agents.
