During my high school and sixth form experience, I have had panic attacks and social anxiety because of my examinations and situations beyond my control. Furthermore, I wasn’t the only one during that time that dealt with mental illnesses but my close friends and family members were having difficult times as well. The theme of our campaign is Mental Illnesses in the workplace more specifically anxiety and depression. Furthermore, this topic is perfect for starting conversations among those who have experiences with anxiety or depression and allowing others to learn even more about these mental illnesses.
Romane Beckford and yours truly, Beyonce Thomas, are the managers for this exciting and informative campaign. Romane is known for his positive and fun personality. My fellow teammate is an entrepreneur and owner of a small business named R&R Design and I am a first-year university student at UWI, majoring in journalism.
This campaign (Conversations with teachers) targets secondary employees such as teachers in the education sector, with a small focus on primary school employees. Thanks to Mrs. Archer, a teacher from a secondary school for speaking with me about her job experience and moments where she felt stressed, overwhelmed or sad. Getting insight from a psychologist or therapist is the perfect way to suggest solutions to Mrs. Archer and other teachers about mental illness. Both my group mate and I want to start conversations and educate others about the symptoms and solutions of anxiety and depression. Also, the campaign will offer tips on how you can help co-workers who are suffering from anxiety or depression. We also hope to encourage unity and care among co-workers.
Special thanks to Ms. Jessica Thompson for offering ways to cope with anxiety and depression. Ms. Thompson is a counselling psychologist at Centered Jamaica. Centered Jamaica is an organization for therapeutic practice for persons with social and emotional wellbeing. Ms. Thompson has a Master of Science in counselling psychology from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s in psychology from Rollins College.
Did you know 244 million people worldwide live with depression? Both anxiety and depression are common among young and middle-aged people. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association, persons diagnosed with depression experience low moods for a long while along with fatigue. However, anxiety is completely different as symptoms are intense, excessive, and persistent worrying and extreme fear of everyday situations.
Ms. Thompson says, “therapy allows for the individuals to share their thoughts and issues with someone and practice new behaviors in order to feel less anxious or depressed.”
Persons dealing with both anxiety and depression can take medications such as anti-depressants to alter the behaviour of the brain. In addition, changing one’s lifestyle such as eating healthier and sleeping longer can help to reduce anxious patterns and depressed behaviours.
